Tag: investing

Was it just me, or was the media relentless in January?

We had a remarkable fracas about the so-called “Pakistani grooming gangs” scandal here in the UK, with Elon Musk weighing in. At the time it seemed remarkable but one month later, as I write this, I am pleased to say I can’t remember the details.

Of course January saw President Trump inaugurated. Which was something of a Spinal Tap moment because, if we thought his media volume level was loud beforehand, it has ramped up to 11/10 subsequently.

On the eve of the inauguration, we saw the Gaza ceasefire. One month later, the ceasefire has held – which is something I suppose. The Israelis are adamant this isn’t a peace – presumably as the Koreans were too back in 1953 – and the mood remains febrile.

Very sadly LA saw the most expensively damaging forest fires on US record. I am a huge fan of LA, and was horrified to hear the fire reached only a few metres away from the Getty Museum – one of my favourite buildings. Thankfully it appears to have been one of the best designed buildings too.

Here in the UK, aside from the Musk politics nonsense, the main theme has been economic growth – or rather the lack of it. The chancellor Reeves has come out fighting, with a raft of pretty proactive announcements such as supporting a third runway at LHR, green lighting the “positive economic outlook – “Ox-Cam arc”, and so on. I take her less and less seriously, but await Labour’s proposed planning reforms with interest.