Great graph in FT putting the lie to the myth that welfare costs are bankrupting us

Congratulations to Cambridge University, up to 3rd this year.

Hats off to Lime (and Forest) bikes last week during London's tube strike. Good piece by ££FT on.ft.com/3V5Cp31

Agreed that Muellbauer makes a lucid case. My cynical side fears though that the extra taxes would be applied and the drops in taxes (notably stamp duty, the existing property taxes on wealth) would be ignored.

The latest tax kite to be flown, creating yet more uncertainty and hitting confidence/growth - this time amidst the 2m+ private landlords in the UK

Excellent piece by Ganesh. I particularly like "Round-the-clock misery and self-recrimination combined with coyness about the biggest thing that Britain has done this century: that is modern Conservatism to a dishonest tee."

JPMorgan spooks fintechs with plans to charge for access to customer data https://on.ft.com/456eqVJ

Hear hear, President Macron. Much as we tease our French friends as we tease siblings, if France is lost, we Brits lose everything.

UK should not give EU 'domestic' status for its universities. UK has several unis that are better than all EU unis, but the domestic £9k fee loses money and is subsidised. A better suggestion - allow EU students 4 years not the proposed 2, so they can complete a degree.

Next time I get a cold, I'm going to betray it by having a Lemsip and some ibuprofen.

Can't believe Starmer is about to betray Brexit when it has all been going so well.

Great article on the prospect of ISA reforms by FT's excellent Claer Barrett. www.ft.com/content/4f8d... This para in particular is spot on:

Hilarious

Loved this £FT article. Especially the final point about foreigners all speaking English, and hearing the Jacob Rees-Mogg/David Davis/etc quotes and thinking 'screw you'

Excellent post on $AUGM here theoakbloke.substack.com/p/an-augm-ente… - who needs equity analysts after all?

They're really putting the FFS into tariffs is what they're doing

R.I.P. Henry Kelly, broadcaster, journalist, neighbour and friend. A brilliant storyteller with a quick wit and an amazing memory. We had many good times together, particularly at the Old Bull & Bush in NW3.

Some City folk are pushing to scrap the cash ISA. Personally I am in favour of @fideinvest.bsky.social 's proposal, as described in the FT.

Gotta say, I am loving the @octopus.energy usage charts on its Cosy Octopus tariff (which is a bit like a very fancy version of Economy 7 - see how the price varies during the day - thin left hand line on multicoloured graph). I am saving about 16%.

Lovely thread by my first business partner, truly an OG. Make sure you get to the end....

Anna making a pretty persuasive case as to why we should be thinking about customs policy.

Interesting piece about why Trump wants Greenland. But it misses what I wonder whether may be the main reason... To provide leverage against Putin on Ukraine? I.e. I'll drop claims on Greenland if you quit Ukraine

A lot of rich parents are very upset at the government for charging VAT on private school fees. Maybe they should instead ask why private schools have put up fees so far above inflation over the past 15 years. www.ft.com/content/852b...

Excellent piece by Ian in weekend FT - apparently I am part of a keystone species

Fascinating graph by FT's Martin Wolf.... doesn't entirely ring true though - can anybody explain why UK is so low?

The definitive analysis on the impact of IHT changes on farming. Spoiler - fewer than 400 farms affected, based on latest data, many of whom are tax avoiding 'non farmers'.

Good graph by @danneidle.bsky.social showing highest impact of Labour's NI changes fall on lowest paid taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/11/21/t...

This October report is excellent. It covers the issues facing the UK public equity markets with high quality policy recommendations institute.global/insights/eco...

www.finextra.com/newsarticle/... #Augm.l

Serious question. Will the UK be better off with an Ambassador in DC who freewheels promising deals that potentially his government doesn't agree with, or one who sticks to carefully considered lines in balancing e.g. US and EU? Unsure of the answer to that.

Producers' views on league tables/etc are not nearly as valuable as consumers' views, imho. I strongly suspect parents, the consumers, prefer the one dimensional approach.

Bluesky is now the #2 social app in the US, Canada, and #3 in the UK 🦋 On bsky, ~30% of y'all are posters compared to the 1% main characters on other platforms. Turns out there's more chattiness & connection when you have algorithmic choice 🤭

In-depth profile in Observer - nice to have a chance to tell more of the #proptech story than normal www.theguardian.com/business/202...

interesting post by @alanbeattie.bsky.social highlighting USA's weak position in global EV market

Holy cow... a microprocessor with no AND or OR capability... and I thought I was old.

I just clocked that EIS/SEIS have been extended 10 more years. Tho I'm not quite sure if this was an EU legacy thing or demonstrates support for those schemes from Rachel Reeves etc al. ukbaa.org.uk/blog/2024/08...

Anybody in Liverpool for the Labour conference and fancy a quick coffee? Ping me if so.

New post from @ldfreedman.bsky.social "Whose afraid of Vladimir Putin?" On how to interpret Russian threats and recent conversations with US officials. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/w...

‘People forget to look up’: September supermoon to light up Wednesday’s night sky

This feels so far from the Steve Jobs era, even I (as an Android user) am almost sad. www.apple.com/uk/iphone-16/

Interesting analysis by @danneidle.bsky.social on non-dom abolition, arguing the main impact will be from inheritance tax (IHT) - with good examples in footnotes. Limiting non-dom tax break to IHT feels politically doable, and potentially revenue-raising. taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/09/08/w...

Landlords are trying to sell, yes. But who is trying to buy? No rise in first time buyers. propertyindustryeye.com/ex-rental-ho... #buytolet #renttech

Interesting story/data here about Steve Jobs' early angel experience www.linkedin.com/posts/guille...

I echo this - this place is a remarkable restaurant, in a city with more than its fair share. It's right on the gentrification border in Barnsbury - easily accessible from Kings Cross, Angel or from the Overground

This. Investing in your customers is taking on highly correlated risks.

Excellent post on the latest in the 'equal pay for equal work' case www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-....

Very interesting argument from economic adviser Tim Leunig in the FT

Our CEO @wreeve.bsky.social talks to City AM: www.cityam.com/how-to-end-t...

Holy cow - and fingers crossed

Interesting case study - IRL how angel / VC returns look - hunterwalk.com/2024/08/14/w...