Merryn Somerset Webb

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@MerrynSW

UK Wealth, Editor at large, Bloomberg. Ex Ed in C @Moneyweek. Ex Columnist/Contrib Editor @FT Opinions personal. NED: THRG and Schroder Japan.Author #SharePower

bloomberg.com/opinion/author… Joined August 2010

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Merryn Somerset Webb @MerrynSW 3d

The time has come. It's a little scary out there. The AI bubble is obviously fragile, geopolitics are a mess and the financial consequences of rising rates are just getting going. You know what you need? Resilience in the form of a cockroach portfolio.. bloomberg.com/news/newslette…

www.bloomberg.com ‘Cockroach Portfolio’ Beckons Amid Volatile Times With Democrats set to turn on AI, market volatility at full boil and uncertainty about what’s to come, it’s time to future-proof your investments.

Merryn Somerset Webb @MerrynSW 6h

This shoudl also be a reminder that the cost of living crisis is in large part government imposed. You wouldn't have one if you weren't paying so much tax to cover regulations and subsidies. See housing as below, energy, labour costs etc etc etc

Centre for Policy Studies Verified account @CPSThinkTank 9h

Did you know government-imposed costs are responsible for more than half the price of a new build London flat?

Really important new report from @Ben_A_Hopkinson and Edward Donov👇
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Merryn Somerset Webb @MerrynSW 7h

Making homes expensive by demanding affordable homes. Or something.

Centre for Policy Studies Verified account @CPSThinkTank 9h

Did you know government-imposed costs are responsible for more than half the price of a new build London flat?

Really important new report from @Ben_A_Hopkinson and Edward Donov👇
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Merryn Somerset Webb @MerrynSW 7h

Yes, you should be shocked. But on the plus side.. it means the state has the power to reduce the cost of bringing new homes to market.

Ben Hopkinson Verified account @Ben_A_Hopkinson 10h

Government imposed policy costs make up 57% of the clearing price of a new flat in London and 42% of a new home in the Home Counties.

Despite a big housing shortage and positive planning reforms, new home starts in England are declining from 182,000 in 2022 to under 125,000 last year.

While the macroeconomic context has worsened with build cost inflation and high interest rates, the Government is imposing more burdens on new homes, not fewer.

Taxes, levies, planning, and mandates add over £440,000 to the cost of delivering a home in London and nearly £225,000 nearby, with several of these imposed recently like the Second Staircase, Future Homes Standard, Building Safety Levy, Biodiversity Net Gain and Residential Property Developer Tax.

Individually these may be justified, but together they are making new homes unviable.

As a result, large developers are buying less land and small builders are going out of business; nearly 4,000 construction firms went bust just last year.

If we want to build more homes, we should be easing the burdens on them, not adding more.

Making housebuilding viable again is the most important issue in housing policy and my co-author, Edward Donovan, has completed excellent modelling showing how big the challenge is.

Read the full report: cps.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

And simulate what changing the policies does with Edward's modelling here: easing-the-burdens.cps.org.uk

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Merryn Somerset Webb @MerrynSW 7h

The finished Merryn Talks Money pod will have some nice ideas on how to invest btw. Space is tech. But it isn't hostage to the AI bubble (well, maybe SpaceX is a bit hostage..).

Merryn Somerset Webb Verified account @MerrynSW 8h

Just been recording a podcast on defence/space (coming to you soon). Europe is clearly not winning the space race. Why? Not tech or innovation. That bit is fine! It's bureaucracy and a procurement system built for a different era. Just too slow..
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