Innehållsförteckning för 1154 från MoneyWeek

Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. That is why, after the financial crisis, Russell Napier, one of MoneyWeek’s favourite analysts, set up the Library of Mistakes in Edinburgh. Illuminate financial history and we can learn from our mistakes, he hoped. Perhaps the political and economic establishment should arrange a field trip to the library. The past few weeks have been marked by bad ideas that just keep coming back, like zombies refusing to die. We keep hearing about rent controls in London. These always produce a shortage of rental accommodation since they remove the incentive for landlords to make flats available. Failed 1970s policies return Similarly, the fuss over greedflation (see Merryn’s monthly column on page 26) has prompted calls for price controls,…

“[Ark Invest CEO] Cathie Wood’s new forecast [is that Tesla] will trade at... $2,000 [per share] in 2027 [compared with $160 now]. It is impossible for me to understand what runs through the head of an individual who says something like that. If... Wood really believes it, she is unqualified to manage money... Full stop. If she doesn’t believe it but is saying it to try to lure investors to her stumbling fund, she is... acting in bad faith... [You might think that] statements like this... are so obviously wrong that nobody will take them seriously, but... some retail investors will read what Wood said and... buy TSLA stock thinking they are going to make a fortune. But they will only get fleeced... The odds of TSLA [soaring to such…

Numis, a broker for small and medium-sized companies that has been in business in London for 150 years, has decided to “abandon its independence”, say Patrick Hosking and Martin Strydom in The Times. It has accepted a £410m all-cash bid from Deutsche Bank. The news sent shares in Numis up by 67%. The tie-up is expected to provide “a much-needed boost to the City”, especially as corporate brokers “have faced thin times, with a shortage of flotations and other capital raisings as well as lower volumes of equities trading”. Deutsche’s decision to “swoop” on City broker Numis may feel “a bit like a return to the 1990”, when big lenders bought some of “the most revered names” in stockbroking and merchant banking, says Alex Brummer in the Daily Mail. However,…

Medical-devices specialist Abbott Laboratories earned a mere $730m from Covid tests in the first quarter of 2023, down from $3.3bn a year earlier. But it has plenty of other irons in the fire, according to WirtschaftsWoche. In 2022 alone it came up with 125 new products, receiving permission to launch new heart catheters. The group’s glucose-measuring system Freestyle Libre was also developed further. Diabetes is a core area for Abbott – in the US, the group’s main market, there are 34 million sufferers. Overall sales are likely to reach $40bn this year, with net income of $6bn pencilled in. The group has $10bn of cash for product development and has paid a dividend for 100 years on the trot.…

Politics & economics On Tuesday, the NHS Staff Council signed off on the government’s offer of a 5% pay rise for more than a million NHS staff in addition to a one-off payment of up to £3,789, despite continuing opposition from unions including the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unite, says Connie Dimsdale on inews. Pay rises will apply to all nurses, paramedics and other non-medical NHS staff in England. The RCN will now hold a fresh ballot to renew its six-month strike mandate. The deal did not include doctors, who are locked in separate pay disputes, notes William Atkinson on Conservative Home. The “Corbynista leadership of our junior doctors” and the British Medical Association are demanding a 35% increase for their members, a sum that is…

The US is heading for “the messiest fight” in a decade over America’s legislative debt limt, says Alan Rappeport in The New York Times. Technically, the US government has already breached that limit, which caps the amount of money the federal government can borrow to pay its bills, including those for programmes already authorised by Congress. It has been using “accounting manoeuvres” to get around this, but the space for these “could be exhausted by June”. Then the US would be forced to default on its debt, which could be “economically devastating” and “plunge the world into a financial crisis”. This has become a “perennial issue”, says Lauren Fedor and Colby Smith in the Financial Times. This time, however, the protracted nature of the standoff between Republicans, who control the…

The demise of First Republic won’t have come as much of a surprise to anyone. Its shares had been under sustained speculative attack for weeks, and even though some of the largest financial institutions in the US tried to prop it up, it had clearly lost the confidence of depositors. By last weekend, it could no longer survive by itself, and the Federal Reserve arranged a quick sale to JPMorgan, a bank that is increasingly taking over most of the financial world. We can add First Republic to the list of bank failures that started with Silicon Valley Bank earlier this year and spread to Credit Suisse. Whether the mini-banking crisis of 2023 ends there remains to be seen, but it would hardly be a great surprise if one of…

Tracker funds (also known as index funds or passive funds) aim to track the performance of a particular index, such as the FTSE 100 or S&P 500. The funds may hold all, or a representative sample, of the stocks in the underlying index (physical replication), or replicate the performance of the index via buying derivatives (synthetic replication). The aim is to have as low a tracking difference (the gap between the performance of the index and the fund) as possible. Since the goal of a tracker is to match the index, significant outperformance is as concerning as significant underperformance (even if it might not feel like that to an investor), because it suggests problems with the way the fund is being run. Tracker funds can be traditional open-ended funds (unit…

“For me it’s not about buying things, it’s being able to wake up and not worry about money.” Actor India Amarteifio (pictured) on the value of money, quoted in The Sunday Times “Finance: the art of passing currency from hand to hand until it finally disappears.” Robert W. Sarnoff, CEO of former US electronics giant Radio Corporation of America, quoted in Forbes “Just don’t say it. Economists need to engage brain.” Simon French of Panmure Gordon after Huw Pill, chief economist of the Bank of England, told Britons to get used to becoming poorer, quoted in The Mail on Sunday “The King is not heartless or reckless, but if the family members are not part of the core family and not working for the Crown, it is fair for them…

nytimes.com In the 1950s, as mass-produced plastic came to dominate material culture in the West, French philosopher Roland Barthes predicted that this “magical stuff” would replace all others, even perhaps life itself, says Mark O’Connell. His nightmareish vision is becoming a reality. Modern life is all but unthinkable without it, but its “virtually immortal” nature means it is now showing up in our bodies too. A 2019 study claimed that we may be consuming as much as a credit-card’s worth every week. Microand nanoplastics – tiny shards of plastic pollution that are now ominpresent in the environment – are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the fish we eat, even in mothers’ breast milk. Should we be worried? Perhaps. We already know it causes harm to fish,…

Carl Icahn made his reputation as a corporate raider in the 1980s and has “made a career out of starting corporate brawls”, says Bloomberg. This week renowned short-seller Nathan Anderson’s investment group Hindenburg Research wiped a quarter off the value of Icahn Enterprises by shorting the shares. It claimed that the company is vastly overvalued on a premium of more than 200% to its net asset value. It also raised questions about Icahn Enterprises’ dividend, which is mostly paid in the form of newly issued shares. “Icahn has been using money taken in from new investors to pay out dividends to old investors,” says Hindenburg’s report, calling it a “Ponzi-like” set-up that is unsustainable.…

When, in 2011, I last came to Japan, the Nikkei 225 index was at the bottom of a long bear market, having fallen by 75% in 22 years. Periodic rallies had not been sustained as, it was commonly agreed, most Japanese companies were not run for profit. Protected from shareholders and predators by cross-holdings, boards focused on themselves and staff loyalty. Government bonds yielded just 1.25%, the lowest in the world, which seemed absurdly overvalued given Japan’s high government debt relative to the size of the economy. Many had sold bonds short in the expectation of higher yields but this trade became known as “the widowmaker” as it had persistently failed. The yen was trading at 120 to the pound, making Japan seem expensive, and the economy had stagnated for…

Even by the dysfunctional standards of British train fares, railcards – which are supposed to get you cheaper tickets – stand out. National Rail (railcard.co.uk) says it sells nine main railcards. That seems mad by itself: how many ways do we need to get a discount? Yet once you include all those that only give discounts in some regions, the total rises to around 30. Lack of space means we’ll ignore most of those and just look at the nine major ones, plus the Gold Card that comes with some season tickets (see right). Unless otherwise stated, all cost £30 per year (some also have three-year deals for £70) and give one-third off fares. Several also give useful discounts on London Underground fares (see right again). First, there are three…

Fraud cases continue to soar, with crimes up by 151% last year according to research from KPMG. Small businesses are a favoured target, and the attacks are often far less sophisticated than you might think. Indeed, while many small businesses are worried about falling prey to elaborate cyberattacks, they may be overlooking the danger of simple scams. Accounts-payable fraud is a particular vulnerability for many small businesses. One common problem is “long firm” scams, where a client makes a number of small purchases from your business over several months, all paid for on time, in order to build up trust; then it makes a much larger purchase and disappears without paying. You may also be vulnerable to fraud from within: employees creating fake invoices to divert money into their own…

The CRUX Asia ex-Japan Fund aims to find the highest-growth companies in the region by identifying opportunities in the market before the mainstream becomes alert to their potential, and holding them for three to five years though their early and mid-growth phases. We look for companies on course to generate revenue growth of 15% per annum, irrespective of size. This often means we are positioning the fund to benefit from technological disruption. We do not buy blindly into an idea. Our strategy is to marry conviction in a theme with a thorough bottom-up approach: is management top-quality? Does the company have an edge via intellectual property or a process that is hard to replicate? And, critically, does it have adequate capital to deliver? One area where we have high conviction…

Besides The Declaration of Breda, Sotheby’s Coronation Sale (see left) also featured a host of letters penned by British kings and queens, including Henry III (1254) and George VI between 1913 and 1932, when he was known as Prince Albert. A collection of photographs relating to Elizabeth II’s royal tours from the 1950s to the 1970s were also on sale, as was a diamond pin brooch, one of six gifted to her maids of honour at her coronation in 1953. Replica sets of the crown jewels, complete with the St Edward’s Crown, which Charles III will wear at his coronation, were dispersed across the Commonwealth. One such set in the sale was valued at up to £15,000. “Royal memorabilia has always been greatly sought after, but events like weddings and…

Hollywood screenwriters went on strike this week for the first time in 15 years, says The Economist. It wasn’t for want of work. There were a record 600 original scripted TV shows in 2022, but “writers’ rooms”, where scripts are written, now last for fewer weeks with fewer writers as studios try to save money. Writers also argue that in the era of on-demand streaming, the industry has yet to find a way to share the spoils from reruns (known as residuals) fairly. Studios are pleading hard times. Cinema releases accounted for 45% of revenue before Covid. Audiences are returning, but not in the same numbers, while Netflix announced job cuts last year. The last strike cost California $2.1bn as production stopped and crew were laid off. Good week for:…

Russian stocks have hit their highest level since April 2022, say Daria Mosolova and George Steer in the Financial Times. Strict capital controls have left Russians with few other investment options, while generous dividends from energy giants and banks are prompting many to buy income stocks. Despite the recent rally, the Moex index remains 39% lower than its pre-invasion high of October 2021. Trading volumes fell by 41% in 2022 as international investors fled. Similarly, the rouble crashed by 40% after the invasion, only to rally to within “6% off its pre-invasion levels”, says Dan Ashmore of Invezz. The asset price recovery is somewhat artificial: “80% of the money made abroad by Russian businesses is required to be swapped into roubles”, while foreign investors have been blocked from exiting their…

Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – in which Beijing has a controlling stake – typically trade at a discount to their more profitable and efficient private-sector counterparts, says Jacky Wong in The Wall Street Journal. But now China is putting a new emphasis on SOEs as it pursues strategic goals. The Hang Seng China State-Holding Enterprises index has gained 8.3% in 2023 compared with a 1.5% decline for the wider Hang Seng China Enterprises index. Shares in PetroChina, China Railway and China Mobile have done especially well, the latter helped by plans to invest in the digital economy and mobile networks. The SOEs’ outperformance shows that investors doubt “private firms will get a fair shake in post-Covid China”.…

A few months ago, social-network company Meta was regarded as “bloated”, with sales sliding, users departing and the shares collapsing, says Danny Fortson in The Sunday Times. Today, the stock has nearly tripled from its November low following a return to growth. True, sales growth remains “pedestrian” at just 3%, especially compared with the “go-go years” where “30% quarterly growth was unfurled with metronomic consistency”. However, investors are confident that CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “cost-cutting plan” will “deliver fatter profits even as growth slows”. They also think that Meta’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) will “not just grow the number of users, but keep them on its apps”. Meta’s increasing sales provides evidence that it “is weathering what could become a difficult advertising environment”, good news given that “nearly all of…

India’s fourth-largest pharmaceutical group, Mankind, is to float in Mumbai. It has priced the initial public offering (IPO) at the top of its range, raising Rs43.3bn (£421m) and valuing the group at Rs433bn (£4.2bn). Mankind makes drugs for several illnesses but is most famous for a brand of condoms called Manforce, says the Financial Times. Sovereign wealth funds and the Canada Pension Plan Investment board were among the key buyers, eager to scoop up shares in a pharma brand with a heavy emphasis on the domestic market. Much of the sector exports generic drugs. Mankind has given the lacklustre local IPO market a fillip. Just three firms floated in the first quarter.…

Just over a week ago US president Joe Biden announced he was running for re-election in 2024. Small but lingering doubts remain on the betting markets, however, about whether he even will even get to be the Democrat’s nominee. With £1.86m matched on Betfair, Biden is at 1.33 (75.2%) to win the nomination, with fringe candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr at 18.5 (5.4%), vice-president Kamala Harris at 20 (5%) and California governor Gavin Newsom at 22 (4.5%). As I’ve said before, I can’t see a realistic scenario where anyone other than Biden or Harris is the Democratic candidate, though don’t bet any money on either if you’ve previously followed my advice. One bet I would take is the 1.13 (88.4%) on Smarkets on Harris being on the Democratic ticket, as…

● Burberry chair Gerry Murphy “handbagged” prime minister Rishi Sunak at a business summit last week over the removal of VAT refunds for foreign visitors, says Maggie Pagano on Reaction. The decision – which was made by Sunak when he was chancellor – has made the UK the “least attractive shopping destination in Europe”, says Murphy. Wealthy tourists are switching to Paris and Milan to avoid the tax. “Watching Sunak fend off Murphy’s accusations was painful.” The prime minister had no answer except a “weasel worded get-out” about the need to raise tax. That doesn’t wash: research by Oxford Economics suggests that restoring the tax break would mean a £4.1bn boost to GDP and create a net gain of £350m in tax. There’s little sign the government is rethinking its…

The risks posed by the battle over the US debt ceiling (see page 11) are dwarfed by the long-term risks of unchecked government spending, says former hedge-fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller. “This focus on the debt ceiling instead of the future fiscal issue is like sitting on the beach at Santa Monica worrying about whether a 30-foot wave will damage the pier when you know there’s a 200-foot tsunami just 10 miles out,” he tells Bloomberg in a email, arguing that spending on social security and healthcare is unsustainable and will have to be slashed. America’s fiscal position today “looks much worse than I had imagined 10 years ago”, says Druckenmiller, who retired from managing money for clients in 2010, after a career in which he averaged returns of 30% per…

compactmag.com Both the main parties in the US have abandoned the workers, says Batya Ungar-Sargon. Democrats, historically the party of labour, are now a coalition of the dependent poor and college-educated progressives. Democrats claim workers abandoned them because they are “hypnotised” by culture-war fear-mongering from the right. But cultural and economic issues are more tightly connected than Democrats like to think. Marriage, for example, is seen as a conservative issue, but married people earn more, by as much as 30%. Being raised in a single-parent household is the number-one predictor for downward mobility for children. The Republicans, meanwhile, once the party of CEOs and country clubs, now has a voter base made up of workers without a higher education. But the party has little idea what it can deliver for…

■ Treat investment platforms’ best-buy lists with caution, says David Brenchley in The Times. The newspaper crunched the numbers with investment group SCM Direct, assessing the performance of the lists at Hargreaves Lansdown, Fidelity International, Interactive Investor and Bestinvest since January 2019. Only 8.8% of the recommended funds finished in the top 10% of their sector, and 22.7% were in the bottom quintile. Just over half of the funds were ranked in the bottom 50% of their category. The lists also had a high churn rate, which appears inconsistent with platforms’ advice that investors should hold funds for the long term (at least five years). Moreover, the process whereby platforms choose best-buy funds can be opaque and differs from provider to provider. SCM Direct’s Alan Miller notes that the latest…

You can call it greedflation. You can call it price-gouging. You can be polite and call it profit-led inflation, middleman inflation, excuse-flation or sellers’ inflation. But whatever you call it, it is back. And that is not a good thing. Societe Generale’s Albert Edwards is, he says, shocked. In his four-decade career he has never seen anything quite like the “astonishing” extent to which companies are indulging in what he calls greedflation (Edwards has no need to be polite). So what is it and what makes today’s bout of it so astonishing? Normal inflation is a function of rising (or stable) demand, and sharply shrinking supply. An imbalance. The former is the type we saw in early 2020, as everyone rushed out to buy large lockdown TVs. The latter kicked…

If you buy an annual season ticket in the south of England or an annual travelcard on the London Underground, it often comes with a Gold Card. This is essentially a better version of the Network Railcard: it covers almost all the Network Railcard area plus East Anglia and the West Midlands; is valid after 9.30am Monday-Friday with no minimum fare; and gives one-third off for up to four adults plus 60% off for up to four children aged 5-15. It also lets you buy another one-year railcard (16-25, Family & Friends, Senior, Two Together, Disabled Persons or Network Railcard) for just £10, either for you or another person, subject to eligibility. Most railcards allow you to get a one-third discount on off-peak day travelcards for the Underground, but the…

New rules will soon require limited companies to embrace digital technology and provide more information. New regulation, due to become law in weeks, is designed to increase transparency and reduce economic crime. But it could prove to be a headache if you’re not ready to comply. One important change will be that all limited companies will be expected to file their accounts to Companies House using approved digital software, just as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) now requires tax filings to be made this way. Check whether your systems meet the approval of Companies House – if not, you will need to make alternative arrangements. Also, the right of some limited companies to file abridged accounts, which contain only minimal information, is to be abolished. All limited companies will now…

2021 Valpolicella, Classico, Ca’ La Bionda, Veneto, Italy (£16.95, reduced to £15.75 each by the case, Lea & Sandeman, 020 7244 0522, leaandsandeman.co.uk) We have reached the mid-point of spring, so in anticipation of warmer weather and summer looming, I have found you one of the most deliciously gluggable reds I have tasted in years. Valpolicella is a well-known style of Italian red wines beloved by trattorias and pizzerias up and down the country. Few realise just how vast a category of red wines Valpol is. From inexpensive supermarket plonk costing a couple of euros a litre to mind-blowing amarones at the top of the pile, which would require a quick call to your bank manager to secure funds for a purchase, the range is staggering. La Bionda’s version is…

Going… The crown that Queen frontman Freddie Mercury wore for the finale rendition of God Save The Queen during his last tour with the band in 1986 is heading to auction with Sotheby’s on 5 September. The 1,500 items in the sale passed to a friend after his death in 1991 and they will go on display from 4 August. The crown is thought to be modelled on the St Edward’s coronation crown and it comes with the accompanying cloak in fake fur, red velvet and rhinestones. It has an £80,000 upper estimate. A pair of leather hotpants, which Mercury wore while performing in Birmingham in 1980, sold for £18,000 with Omega Auctions last week. Gone… A signed travel Bible in a black leather case that belonged to Elvis Presley…

China’s economy is “back in business”, says Nathaniel Taplin in The Wall Street Journal. The world’s second-largest economy is enjoying a reopening boom. GDP expanded by an annual 4.5% in the first quarter. The rebound has been led by consumers, with retail sales surging by 10.6% year on year in March. Even the “long-suffering... housing market” is showing signs of revival. While consumption roars, manufacturing is struggling. China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.2 in April from 51.9 in March (readings below 50 denote a contraction), even as the services PMI registered a robust 56.4. Western shoppers are not buying as many Chinese-made goods as they did during the pandemic. Still, officials in Beijing won’t be too worried about the lopsided recovery, says John Authers on Bloomberg. They…

Microsoft’s $69bn takeover of Activision Blizzard has been dealt a “potentially fatal blow”, says Bloomberg’s Katharine Gemmell. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has vetoed the tie-up, arguing that it would lead to “higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation for UK gamers”, especially with respect to cloud gaming (playing games online rather than downloading them to a console or PC). Crucially, it said that its concerns “couldn’t be solved by remedies such as the sale of blockbuster title Call of Duty or other solutions”. While Microsoft plans to appeal, “there has never been a successful appeal in the UK on an antitrust decision”. This is a bad decision, says Brian Albrecht in The Telegraph. It seems “the regulator still thinks of markets as static objects to control, rather than…

Four to buy Admiral Group The Telegraph Shares in this provider of car and travel insurance as well as financial and legal services have lost 10% in a year. Peers have issued profit warnings as claims increase and car-repair costs spiral. Admiral’s own recent performance has been “no thing of beauty”, but it now has a third more clients than it did in 2019. That leaves it well placed to profit when a recovery arrives. In the meantime investors can enjoy a “juicy” 5.4% prospective dividend yield. 2,259p Afentra The Mail on Sunday This Africa-focused oil and gas business buys mature assets that are already in production but could be made safer, cleaner and more productive. The group is set to buy a stake in an oil field off the…

The choice between investing in single-country funds and regional funds is not simple. You can make a compelling argument that a portfolio of country funds has many advantages. Investing norms vary between countries for a variety of reasons, including legal and cultural differences. It’s arguably tricky for a manager to be on top of all of these nuances. There can be plenty of hurdles for individuals and small teams in making investment decisions across a region, including language barriers and other factors that make it harder to carry out research and due diligence. Set against that, there’s one obvious limitation to many single-country funds. Is the market really deep enough for a manager to build a full portfolio of high-conviction investments? Or will they be adding some companies that perhaps…

Wokery is destroying capitalism Roger Bootle The Daily Telegraph Due to specific government policies and “more elusive” cultural factors, the UK does not currently enjoy a “very favourable” climate for business, says Roger Bootle. Most notable is the recent corporation tax hike from 19% to 25%, but a succession of personal tax increases and a “barrage of intrusive regulations” haven’t helped. Then there is the “deeper anti-business culture across society”. In large firms, “jiggery-wokery” appears to have taken over, while the subliminal message on our TV screens is that if you have “got on in life” you have been “up to no good” (take the villainous self-made businesspeople in Inspector Morse). Similarly, in employment tribunals, the “default position” seems to be that employers are unscrupulous and workers are oppressed. When…

theguardian.com/commentisfree A new film, Paved Paradise, tells the story of the “most remarkable ecological turnaround on Earth”, says George Monbiot: the transformation of Costa Rica. The change was catalysed by Alvaro Umaña, the environment minister in Óscar Arias’s government from 1986 to 1990. Before then, Costa Rica had one of the world’s worst deforestation rates. Today, forests cover 57% of the land, close to the maximum possible. How was this achieved? Incentives were key. Cattle ranching was unproductive, but marginally more lucrative than allowing the forest to stand. So Umaña offered small farmers $64 a year, the amount his department had calculated as the opportunity cost of foregoing a cow. The smallest landholders were offered grants; larger ones were offered soft loans. The result was that 97% of those who…

The news that Nick Greenwood, manager of the £80m MIGO Opportunities Trust (LSE: MIGO), would be leaving its management company, Premier Miton, was unwelcome for shareholders but should not have been a surprise. His co-manager, Charlotte Cuthbertson, left abruptly last November without explanation and now works at Tyndall. MIGO buys investment trusts at a large discount to their intrinsic value. These trusts invest in listed equities but also private equity, commodities, property and debt. This is a risky area; some of the trusts are bargains offering compound returns through both strong underlying performance and narrowing discounts, but others will prove to be lame ducks, justifying the high discount. The trust’s performance over three years, 41%, is good for one well diversified between different asset classes and thus offering less risk…

What do Roman Abramovich, Jim Ratcliffe and Peter Hargreaves have in common? You might be thinking of trophy assets like super-yachts or football clubs, but all three have been early backers of the hydrogen economy. The gas has been used for decades in industrial processes such as oil refining and ammonia production – to create fertiliser in agriculture, for instance. However, hydrogen does not occur naturally, except in stars; we can’t dig hydrogen out of the ground and burn it like natural gas. So more than 90% of the 70 million tonnes of the world’s current annual hydrogen production comes from burning fossil fuels. The attraction of hydrogen is that electrolysers can split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The gas can then be stored and converted to power via…

● It’s not just railcards that are needlessly hard to understand – the entire booking system is poorly understood. There’s no other explanation for why so many people pay fees to book tickets through sites such as Trainline when you can get tickets for any train company fee-free via any of the other train companies, not just the one you are travelling on. Many of these firms have well-designed websites and apps, such as LNER and GWR. Some run regular cashback offers through various credit cards: LNER’s current offers range from 12% on some American Express cards to 5% on cards from multiple other banks such as Lloyds, Halifax and Barclaycard. Cashback offers are time limited, but some train firms let you buy vouchers that can be used to pay…

● A decision by the government to scrap caps on the numbers of apprentices that small businesses can take on could enable your firm to recruit more widely. Until 3 April, the Apprenticeship Levy scheme limited businesses that don’t have to pay the charge – including most smaller firms – to taking on a maximum of ten apprentices. That rule has now been scrapped, but small businesses will still be able to reclaim 95% of training costs from the state, with the payouts funded by businesses that do pay the Apprenticeship Levy. ● Were more than a million small businesses mis-sold fixed-price energy tariffs at the top of the gas and electricity market last year? Trade groups including the Federation of Small Businesses and British Chambers of Commerce say as…

In 2003, Stanford undergraduate Elizabeth Holmes, who had a fear of needles, decided to develop a device that would drastically reduce the amount of blood that needed to be drawn for medical testing and eliminate the need for samples to be sent to a laboratory. She founded Real Time Cures (renamed Theranos) in 2003 to develop the idea. By 2004 she had dropped out of Stanford to pursue it full time, and ploughed money from her trust fund into the company. What was the idea? To finance development, Theranos raised money through various venture-capital rounds. The initial sums raised were modest, starting with $500,000 in June 2004 (giving the company a valuation of $30m), but they rapidly grew and the company hit an implied valuation of $1bn after it raised…