Twas the night before the budget – give or take – and nothing moved, not even a mouse to move the pointer over the button to CALCULATE whether you would be a winner or a loser from the expected tax changes on November 26th.
Everyone was exhausted by months of animal spirit-sapping speculation. So they tried to rest before the screaming started.
Only Small battery was awake. He sat by the empty fireplace in his insulated fat suit and sang a lament:
“On the fifth day before the Budget, the Chancellor gave me…
12. Salary sacrifice curbed.
11. Council tax walked.
10. Will-they-won’t-they income tax goes up.
9. Stamp duty changes.
8. A cut in the ISA cash allowance.
7. Not anymore tax credit for bicycles.
6. Reduced tax-free pension amounts.
5. Investors slammed capital gains And dividend tax rises.
4. NI is income of pensioners and landlords.
3. A deeper income tax threshold freezes.
2. A country house tax.
1. And a black hole so everyone can see it.”
Of course, no one expected to get everything they didn’t want in the budget. Experts had battled with each other for months which one to suggest would make it.
There was nothing to do but gamble, cut expenses, hire or relocate, and generally hang around until the party was over.
SIGHT He knew there would also be business measures in the budget – bank levies and the like, hopefully offset by more growth initiatives for housing and business investment – but it all went over his head.
So he quietly said another prayer for his tax-free retirement amount and for a intake unhindered by national insurance contributions.
A lump of coal
The truth was that even Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ backers would not be satisfied on Budget Day. That’s because the kernels were already compressed and squeaking:
Source: Financial times
Of course, there were two ways to read this graph. First, that the rich in Britain were struggling. Another, that the average person didn’t make enough money to push the button.
Only one thing was certain: no one would be very happy on Thursday morning.
At best you would be relieved. Worst case scenario, get rid of more of your hard-earned money.
Have a nice weekend!
From Monevator
Mitigate the Risk of Your Portfolio in Retirement – Monevator
Using a flexible ISA as a bridging loan – Monevator
From the Archiver: How Portfolio Diversification Performed When Covid Hit – Monevator
News
The FSCS compensation limit for bank deposits will increase to £120,000 from 1 December Bank of England
British inflation fell to 3.6% in October BBC
Rent controls have backfired in Scotland – An eye for the real estate sector
Play the chancellor on Budget Day with this new interactive game – Guardian
The energy price ceiling will increase by 0.2% from January Orav
A million people who rely solely on the state pension face a £1,400 shortfall – MoneyWeek
New homes near train stations get a ‘standard yes’ from planners Air
The number of home seizures is increasing – BBC
Britain’s top 50 burglary hotspots revealed – This is money
Number of Britons leaving Britain greater than previously thought Air
Will your wages peak at age 47? – This is money
Products and services
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Why Your Home Insurance Could Leave You Out in the Cold This Winter – Which one
Mortgage rate war flares up – This is money
Which stores ask people to return things – Be smart with your money
Get up to £1,500 cashback when you transfer your money and/or investments to Charles Stanley Direct via this affiliate link. Terms and conditions apply – Charles Stanley
How to save money on energy bills – Guardian
Three things you need to know before taking out life insurance for people over 50: Which one
Zopa enters the investment platform sector – the soup
Get up to £200 cashback when you open or switch an Interactive Investor SIPP. Terms and fees apply, affiliate link. – Interactive investor
How to get the cheapest Advance train tickets – Be smart with your money
The top rated solar panel installers in the UK – Independent
Mews style houses for sale, in photos – Guardian
Commentary and opinion
DFA’s active value ETFs now trade in London – DFA [More on small cap value]
Julian Richter: Why You Should Recognize Your Own Happiness – Guardian
Why pay more? – The falling knife
Freedom, democracy and long-term returns – Abnormal returns
The people behind Warren Buffett – Viaduct shares
Retirement is a sprint, not a marathon The Pension Manifesto
The absurdity of the objectives of bankers’ pension funds [Paywall] – FT
Hardworking families are being ‘destroyed’ to pay for the welfare class [Not for the rhetoric, but for the eye-opening graph] – Telegraph
You have to own illiquid stuff to understand the downsides – Of Dollars and Dates
Simple Living in Suffolk again, for a few weeks – Simple life in Somerset
Ten lessons from Warren Buffett – Morning star
Naughty angle: active antics
Jeff Gundlach says almost all assets are overvalued [Podcast] – OddLots
Merger of HICL and TRIG to create largest infrastructure trust – Interactive investor
A deep dive into the ‘total portfolio approach’ [Paywalled, free to register] – FT
Ball: the king among cans – Quarter
Kindle Book Bargains
Poor Charlie’s Almanac by Charlie Munger – £0.99 on Kindle
The man who solved the market by Gregory Zuckerman – £0.99 on Kindle
Chip war by Chris Miller – £0.99 on Kindle
Meltdown: The Collapse of Credit Suisse by Duncan Mavin – £0.99 on Kindle
Or buy one of the best investment classics of all time: Monevator shop
Environmental factors
China races ahead in renewable energy amid green technology boom – Observer
Trump wants to strip endangered species from automatic protection – CNN
Flooded and forgotten: Britain’s waters are rising – Guardian
Future solar energy capacity by country [Infographic] – Visually capitalist
Two-thirds of corals surveyed at Ningaloo Reef are dead, scientists say – Guardian
Brazil ‘surprises’ Britain not investing in new rainforest fund it helped design Air
The race to remove millions of plastic beads from Camber Sands – Guardian
Robotoverlord collection
The AI bubble that doesn’t exist – Forbes
Google boss says $1 trillion AI investment boom contains ‘elements of irrationality’ BBC
Wall Street Is Over Worries About the AI Bubble – Wall Street Journal
More than half of novelists believe AI will replace their work – Guardian
Not at the dining table
Reform plans to deprive EU citizens of their benefit rights – BBC
Trump’s biggest attribute is the trade policy he doesn’t talk about – The argument
Plans to remove more families from Britain amid asylum uproar… – Guardian
…including possibly paying more money to failed asylum seekers to leave – BBC
Out of our league
Lost Vegas – Slate
Brain that mistakes strangers for friends – Guardian
Our phosphorescent world – Eon
Research shows that ultra-processed foods are linked to damage in every organ Guardian
Nine questions to understand the great mystery of life: you – The root of everything
The Chinese people are on a treadmill – Noahpinion
Patience – We’re going to catch those bastards
And finally…
“Sometimes I lie awake at night, or wander around the field behind my house, or walk down the street in our local town, and I think I see it all around me: the Grid. The veins and nerves of the Machine that surrounds us and holds us, cares for us, and defines us now.”
–Paul Kingsnorth, Against the Machine
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#Weekend #reading #laying #geese #Monevator