Will Andy Burnham’s stockpile missive start a tinned food revolution? Analysis If you are old enough to remember 70s London you will have heard of Big Biba, the fashion retailer that expanded into a huge, seven-storey department store on Kensington High Street in 1974. The opening of Big Biba mesmerised Londoners: the shopping experience was unlike anything else. The walls were adorned with groovy patterns while [...]
Budget 2026: Four OBR forecasts lay bare Britain’s fiscal vulnerability Analysis If you’re in a good mood, why not consider ruining it by reading this week’s OBR report. The fiscal watchdog paints a bleak picture of the health of the British economy and the public finances over the rest of this Parliament – one in which the UK is in a steady state of decline, funding [...]
Tesco’s slow retreat from Europe is depressing Analysis Working with Tesco can be both a blessing and a curse, a relative of mine, who used to work in wine sales in Australia, recently told me. Some winemakers who struck deals with the British supermarket, one of the world’s biggest purchasers of wine, would quickly be rolling in cash, such were the size and [...]
Want to be as rich as retirees? Buy shares in them August 5, 2026 Firms selling to British retirees have rocketed in value this year – Simon Hunt asks why. The Nasdaq 100 is up around 14 per cent since the start of the year, at the time of writing, while the FTSE 350 is up 9 per cent. But one stock portfolio is doing better than both. I [...]
It’s not up to retail investors to revive the London Stock Market July 30, 2026 The British Isa has once again reared its head. We report this week that Standard Life chair Nicholas Lyons has argued that the tax-free wrapper on a stocks and shares Isa should be restricted to investments in UK assets. “Do we really want to be lowering the cost of capital for American companies by giving [...]
Keep your politics out of your investments July 28, 2026 I keep telling everyone that you should keep your politics out of your investment portfolio. The market doesn’t care about your politics. That is why I am against ESG investors that exclude certain industries from their portfolio, just like conservative investors who think climate change is a hoax and don’t invest in wind and solar [...]