Media worth consuming – June 2025

Top five articles

Britain’s removal of non-domiciled tax status is set to reduce overall tax revenue as wealthy residents relocate to low tax jurisdictions.

American state governments are building housing for low income residents at a cost far higher than the private sector.

A study of five million American households found that divorce substantially increases the likelihood of mortality, poverty, incarceration and teen pregnancy for the children involved.

Ten signs that knowledge and expertise professions are losing their status.

In what could be a future ethics and compliance case study, the former chief marketing officer of the CFA has been charged with defrauding the institute of $5 million.

Finance

US companies selling to wealthier consumers are doing much better than those selling to poorer consumers. A weaker US dollar is encouraging speculators to dive back into carry trades. Almost 18% of US equities are owned by foreigners, gradually rising from less than 6% in 1994. S&P 500 companies spend more on purchasing shares to offset management incentives than they do on dividends.

More than 75% of American active fixed income managers across a broad range of sectors have underperformed their benchmark over the last decade. If you want downside protection for stocks, just allocate less to stocks rather than wasting money on options. Uproar from minority investors opposed to a take private proposal for Toyota Industries will be a test for Japan’s attempts to improve corporate governance standards. China’s government is subsidising unprofitable car manufacturers as they engage in a price war.

US government debt issuance now exceeds consumer and corporate debt issuance combined. While the Treasury Secretary says that the US is never going to default, America’s payment record isn’t spotless. Some argue that global warming could cause the next financial crisis, others think this is just more catastrophising or a way for insurance companies to justify higher profits. Despite record profits in 2024, Russian banks are believed to be sitting on a rapidly growing pile of bad loans that could cause a banking crisis.

A Moody’s report on private credit concluded that bank lending to private credit vehicles is increasing systemic risk. The sale of medical company AmSurg has delivered varying results for what were similarly ranked creditors in 2022. Warner Brothers Discovery is using weak bondholder protections to bully bondholders into accepting even weaker protections and to transfer value to shareholders.

Two former oil officials in Nigeria have been arrested over an alleged $7.2 billion fraud. A Florida court has convicted a man of fraud for taking at least 34 free flights by pretending to be a flight attendant. Tech startup Builder.Ai has filed for bankruptcy following revelations that 700 coders in India were answering customer questions manually instead of systems based on artificial intelligence. UK budget retailer Poundland was sold for £1 to restructuring specialists Gordon Brothers.

Politics & culture

Chinese agencies have been hacking into Russian businesses and government departments, seeking to learn from Russia’s war with Ukraine to prepare for a potential invasion of Taiwan. How does the US defeat China in a war if China manufactures all the drones? Drones controlled via fibre optic cable are the latest weapon in the Ukrainian war. Ukraine snuck drones deep into Russia inside shipping containers, then used them to destroy high value Russian warplanes. The Czech Justice Minister resigned after news broke that his department accepted a €40 million donation from a convicted drug marketplace operator.

Economics & work

Jerome Powell is doing his job well by waiting for inflation to fall and the tariff picture to clear up before cutting interest rates. The muted inflation readings following Trump’s tariffs may be partly explained by the Fed’s unwinding of QE. Supporters of tariffs ignore consumers in arguing their case. A history of how New Zealand became the first country to adopt inflation targeting.

After three years of excessive migration caused rents to soar in Canada, slashing migration has resulted in rents starting to fall. In the battle between trade schools and universities, it is often forgotten how cheap and effective on the job training is. JP Morgan has warned graduates they will be fired if they accept a future dated job offer within 18 months of starting, a move designed to stop analysts lining up jobs with private equity firms.

Miscellaneous

When taxpayer subsidies, intermittency and transmission costs are included, a US study found that nuclear is much cheaper than wind and solar. A Dutch weather forecaster has accused Belgian wind farms of stealing wind from downstream Dutch wind farms. Driven by substantial taxpayer subsidies paid for with oil revenue, 90% of Norway’s new car sales are fully electric.

A community in Virginia saw its drug overdose deaths halve after introducing a broad based program involving counselling, medication and community involvement. 145 people have reported being stabbed with syringes containing an unknown substance at a French music festival. Four British climbers skipped the usual weeks long acclimatisation process for climbing Mount Everest by using xenon gas and hypoxic tents.

A professional gambling syndicate kicked a hornet’s nest after it won a Texas lotto jackpot by buying enough tickets to cover all the combinations. The big money that college athletes have recently garnered is about to plummet, with most colleges committing to a salary cap. Trying to be self-sufficient is often counterproductive. Claims that AI will lead to higher unemployment are a rerun of the same claims about new technologies made many times before.

Mr Beast’s manifesto reveals that his success is built on the business of giving his audience what they want, rather than prioritising his artistic freedom. Two hundred fathers showed up at church wearing the same polo shirt after their wives coordinated to execute a Father’s Day joke.