Money Week

This precious metal is rapidly losing status – which is a good time to buy

Got any platinum jewellery? You might need to trade up to something fancier.

Gold has been more valuable than platinum for a while now.

But now it’s not just gold. It’s a somewhat more obscure metal, and almost certainly not one you’ve ever considered wearing on your finger, ...

2017-10-18 08:27

Ricky Martin: How Brexit has affected the star Apprentice

I recently had the privilege of attending an event at the Royal Society of Chemistry to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the founding of Hyper Recruitment Solutions (HRS) by winner of The Apprentice TV show, Ricky Martin.

Martin received a £250,000 investment and mentoring from ...

2017-10-18 08:27

We really need to sort out the housing market before it destroys our economy

Every big financial bust there’s ever been has been preceded by one common factor – a big boom.

Economics in general seems to struggle with this. The boom times are seen as “normal” and the busts are seen as aberrations. This is partly because economists are terrible at ...

2017-10-18 08:27

Another good reason to invest in Japan – more workers and higher wages

Before we get to the charts that matter this week, I just wanted to draw your attention to another chart that caught my eye this morning.

David Rosenberg at Gluskin Sheff is a consistently interesting (and very prolific) financial analyst. In a research note this week, he highlighted what ...

2017-10-15 07:25

How to thrive during a “no deal” divorce

The divorce bill is still being haggled over. With every week that passes, we get closer and closer to our exit from the European Union, yet no closer to getting a deal with our former partners. There is clearly a serious possibility that we will tumble out of the EU with no agreement – ...

2017-10-15 07:25

How the Victorian Black Friday shaped modern central banking

Good morning – this morning we have our usual weekly story from financial history.

If you’ve missed the earlier ones in the series, among others, we’ve looked at the panic of 1907, the bond market crash of the late 1960s, and the stockmarket crash of 1973.

If there’s a period ...

2017-10-13 12:05

A Star Wars sequel that will not disappoint

Firms providing the next generation of missile-defence systems stand to gain from growing global tensions. Buy in to share the spoils, says John Stepek.

What can be done about North Korea? While US president Donald Trump tweets insults at “rocket man” Kim Jong-un and the North ...

2017-10-12 18:29

What’s best to invest in now – stocks or houses?

Where should you put your money? Stocks or property?

Which is the better investment?

In today’s Money Morning we settle the question once for all.

Sort of…

I’m going to look at some simple ratios over various time frames between average UK house prices (as ...

2017-10-12 11:53

How to apply the lessons of behavioural economics to your own investing

Richard Thaler won the Nobel prize for economics this week.

Thaler won it for his work on behavioural economics. This is the science of trying to convince other economists that human beings are not perfectly rational, profit-maximising, decision-making units. Instead, we’re – well – ...

2017-10-11 11:41

What’s the next move for Catalonia and what does it mean for markets?

Today’s the big day.

The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, is planning to address the regional parliament this evening for the first time since last weekend’s independence referendum.

What’s the likely outcome, and what might it mean for markets?

A quick recap: at ...

2017-10-10 12:35

Richard Thaler: the less attention you pay, the more money you’ll have

Merryn Somerset Webb talks to author, academic and ‘father of behavioural economics’ Richard Thaler about pensions freedom, central bankers and fund management fees.

• If you missed any of Merryn’s past interviews, you can see them all here.

Merryn Somerset ...

2017-10-09 14:35

Steven Woolfe MEP: Theresa May must call Brussels’ bluff

Over the past 15 months we’ve spoken to City insiders and those with political and diplomatic experience about how Brexit could affect Britain’s economy. This week, we talk to a man with a foot in both camps.

Steven Woolfe MEP is City lawyer who has worked for several top financial ...

2017-10-09 13:29

Could ETFs crash the market? Maybe – but that’s not what you should worry about

The head of one of the biggest exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers in the world has just warned that ETFs could leave a lot of investors nursing heavy losses if the markets fall.

That sounds like an interesting admission from a big player in the industry.

Does he have a fair ...

2017-10-09 12:23

Chart of the week: red metal is red hot

After several poor years, copper futures have bounced sharply. They rose by a fifth this summer to a three-year high close to $7,000 a tonne. Growth in China, which takes almost half the world’s copper, looks solid, while India’s appetite for the red metal is growing by around 8% a ...

2017-10-09 11:17

The thing that just might save the active fund management industry

Last week, I popped in to see the smartly attired men who run Weatherbys, one of the few genuinely private banks in the UK. The business from which it stems was established in the late 1700s (it is still a privately owned family affair) and it comes with a good story – the bank itself was ...

2017-10-09 11:17

Is gambling out of control in Britain?

The issue of problem gambling has shot up the agenda, with the government considering a crackdown. A genuine problem – or a moral panic? Matthew Partridge reports.

There is a growing controversy over fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), which have become increasingly common since they ...

2017-10-08 12:55

Why you should bet big on London

There has been a steady flow of bad news on London’s economy in the last few months. Last week, we learned that house prices were falling in the capital for the first time since the financial crisis of 2008 – they were down 0.6% in the last month according to Nationwide, while rising in the ...

2017-10-07 19:49

Here’s what happened to the world’s most important prices this week

Gold has suffered another steady drift lower this week. North Korea didn’t do anything more to rattle the horses, and the dollar continues to pick up pace. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is enjoying an epic winning streak and that makes gold look dull by comparison.

(Gold: three ...

2017-10-07 12:07

A classic stockmarket horror story for October: the Panic of 1907

Good morning – I’ve got another historical financial crash for your today. If you’re enjoying these, you might want to catch up on any you’ve missed. Ones we’ve already covered include the vanishing depression of 1920/21 , the credit crunch of 1966 , and the South Sea bubble . Now ...

2017-10-06 12:59

This week in MoneyWeek: sonic boom boys

In this week’s MoneyWeek magazine: flight goes hypersonic; the investment trust hunting for hidden gems; and why it sometimes make sense to buy dud stocks.

Plus, Britain’s gambling problem; the next big thing in digital banking; and why you shouldn’t count on the promises your ...

2017-10-06 10:47

The future of flight: from London to New York in just 29 minutes

Elon Musk reckons he can launch a hypersonic rocket by 2022, while groundbreaking work is also going on in the UK. The sector could soon present fresh opportunities, says Chris Carter.

It’s Monday morning in London. You have a business meeting in an hour – in New York. Standing ...

2017-10-05 18:17