Xavier MacDuff

I'm really not impressed by much of the news output from the BBC, but I'm absolutely blown away by Steve Rosenberg's reporting from on the ground in Moscow. Consistently excellent and incredibly brave.

These are actually sensible policies and most people will be quite surprised that we don't do these things already.

Wishing you a speedy recovery Duncan!

"Move your listing to the US", they said.

"You'll capture a higher multiple", they said.

Latest reading: "Another Way" by Dave Whorton. Part autobiography, part Silicon Valley history, this book charts the journey of a former Kleiner Perkins partner from venture capitalist to conservative long-term growth investor.

Oooft!

Big trade-down effect at work here?

The right wing press could be like the dog that caught the car if their calls for Kier Starmer to resign succeed.

Any replacement will certainly be more left wing and will have over 3 years in power until the next election.

5 software/data firms and 2 consumer staples names in a top 10 that compose 90% of NAV.

Indeed. I keep coming back to my view that the main sin here is position-sizing and factor/sector concentration risk.

That's going to be brutal today! 😬😬

Pouring one out tonight for Nick Train and Terry Smith, who rode consumer staples all the way down, before rotating into data services stocks, which are now getting smashed on the assumed threat from AI.

Latest reading: "The Land Trap" by @birdyword.bsky.social, which looks at how land functions in the economy, and covers a series of major bubbles and how government policies have shaped them. A very readable mix of economic theory and history.

Another compounder bro favourite "never sell" stock getting absolutely crushed.

a woman with long brown hair is making a funny face with her finger in her hair ALT: a woman with long brown hair is making a funny face with her finger in her hair

UBS are forecasting that Global Payments will generate $12.25bn of FCF in the 2026-28 period, equal to 58% of market cap, but someone only rate it "neutral", with a 12m price target of $93 (+25% upside). $GPN

Really testing out where the Laffer curve kicks into action!

"Why go to university? Why move to the big city to make yourself in your field? Why work hard if the reward is increasingly diminished?"

Incentives matter!!!

"This looks and feels like a very limited grievance, but it’s indicative of an economy that is working for fewer and fewer of us. That has consequences for the aspirations of the young."

"The lifestyle and material circumstances older generations accessed on a good wage are now out of orbit for those even on an excellent one."

On £100k and feeling hard-done-by? It seems absurd – but a cold truth lies beneath | Jason Okundaye It comes to something when ‘Henrys’ in London worry about money, but that’s the reality of today’s wages and the cost of city living, says Jason Okundaye, a Guardian assistant opinion editor

Even the Guardian now recognises the £100,000 tax trap represents a serious problem.

Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next by John D Kasarda and Greg Lindsay – review PD Smith gets a worrying glimpse of a frenetic, gas-guzzling future

More here on the importance of air connections to modern economic growth.

“Now, the airports – Warrington East and Warrington West – for some reason, they insist on calling themselves Manchester and Liverpool. We don’t know why."

‘A southern economy in the north’: how Warrington has adapted to change Good transport links and the quietly booming nuclear sector are helping the Cheshire town to thrive

Economic growth goes to where the transport connections are:

“You’ve got three motorways [M6, 56 and 62]; the west coast mainline; two railways east to west; the ship canal, and two airports."

Ingredients aren't for the faint-hearted!

Good idea. Let me check my cellar.

Do you have a favourite vintage?

In related news, my wife has bought a 1kg haggis for the two of us.

Wish me luck.

What's the best wine pairing for Haggis??

That chart is from a year ago.

Quite annoying. I bought Kitwave a year ago at 301p and management have just agreed a takeover at 295p.

Edinburgh Developments 2026: 20 hotels that will add over 3,500 rooms for visitors to the Capital The 20 developments are set to add a total of 3,578 hotel rooms across Edinburgh.

There are a crazy number of new hotel developments currently underway in Edinburgh.

The transformation into Venice continues at pace.