Author Archives: m1rkov2c

Europe capitulates to China.

At the EU-China summit in July 2025 President Costa made the following remarks: “We are committed to deepening our bilateral partnership and pursuing constructive and stable relations, anchored in respect for the rules-based international order, balanced engagement and reciprocity.” The truth is that the writing was on the wall long before this, at the timeContinue reading “Europe capitulates to China.”

Are Non-executive directors completely useless

What’s the point of non-executive directors? The idea that non-executive directors (NEDs) are a useful addition to the way that companies are managed or governed has grown from small beginnings to become a massive industry in its own right. There are dozens of websites and programmes to help aspiring NEDs to find roles; and toContinue reading “Are Non-executive directors completely useless”

Snakes and Ladders in the housing market

The housing market in Britain is like a game of Snakes and Ladders. If you are not lucky enough or have sufficient resources to be able to get on the ‘housing ladder’ you will most likely end up sliding down a snake that may lead you at the end to homelessness. The story goes likeContinue reading “Snakes and Ladders in the housing market”

How to organise 4-day (or more day) weeks – the day pricing model

The pressure is on! The pressure for shorter working hours and working from home has presented many organisations with a problem. How to respond this trend? It is time to conceive a way of working as revolutionary as that described by Adam Smith in his theory of division of labour illustrated by the example ofContinue reading “How to organise 4-day (or more day) weeks – the day pricing model”

Asset manager alert. Compliance with consumer duty

The Potemkin village solution The satirical tone of this post is not intended to minimise the importance of ethical behaviour in the fund management industry. It simply illustrates the difficulty of applying vague moral standards to a generally honest and proper industry. The effect of this is to impose additional costs on the majority ofContinue reading “Asset manager alert. Compliance with consumer duty”

The housing market is in a mess

Obsession with home ownership is a negative economic influence. Financial markets should be prepared for radical change. Britain’s housing market is in a mess. Britain’s obsession with home ownership is a principal part of the reason for low growth and social and generational division. The structure of the market drives prices up making ownership increasinglyContinue reading “The housing market is in a mess”

Are non-executive directors more useful than a bidet?

As the saying goes “A non-executive director is like a bidet. It’s pretty expensive, takes up a lot of space in the bathroom, and no one knows what it is really for”. Development and the ‘feel good’ factor The organisation Promotion of Non-executive Directors (PRO-NED) 1982 was a result of financial scandals like the GuinnessContinue reading “Are non-executive directors more useful than a bidet?”

Paralysis of too much choice

There were 4,722 UK unit trusts and OEICs in the Trustnet database as at March 2023. That is without counting the 10,142 UCITS funds domiciled in Luxembourg, many of which can still be bought in the UK post Brexit and the 2,500 UCITS funds domiciled in Dublin; and 177,000 worldwide . That compares with 1,983Continue reading “Paralysis of too much choice”

The slow death of the London stock market

Why are companies deciding to list in New York and why aren’t large investors supporting the market? There has been a perfect storm of events that, in aggregate, had the unintended consequence of diminishing the attraction of the London stock market by curtailing the supply of long term investment by pension funds. The events IContinue reading “The slow death of the London stock market”