John Butler

Force majeure, or mineure?

Contract law has long relied on a legal concept known as force majeure, which is French for “superior force”, that is, beyond the ability of…

The gremlins of AI

On Monday, over in Southbank Insider, I wrote about the goblins of net zero, in particular the use of cobalt in batteries. Today, I’m going…

Win-win or win-lose?

When it comes to the topics of economics and finance, Bill Bonner is one of my favourite authors. He has a knack for taking apart…

Less than zero

As my colleague Nick Hubble wrote earlier this week, there is a “nuclear revival” in the works in Europe. Elsewhere in the world, the building…

Has the next global recession already begun?

Here at Southbank Investment Research, we constantly debate the state of the economy and financial markets. Yes, we also discuss the upcoming football, rugby or…

Detour on the Road to Net Zero

It emerged last week that the government is seriously considering imposing price controls on basic foodstuffs. There has been immediate push-back from those who understand…

The “Rigger in Chief”, unmasked!

Breaker Morant is one of my favourite films. I probably re-watch it about once a year and I’ve shown it to my older, now adult…

If it moves, tax it!

As the old adage goes, taxes are the price we pay for civilisation. Thus it should be no surprise that, throughout much of history, the…

Is there a golden lining to CBDCs?

As our regular readers know, here at Fortune & Freedom we’ve been banging on about the potential threat to your wealth posed by the probable…

Do as I save, not as I do

No, there is not a typo in the title. It is meant to confuse. You see, we’re told by the government to save for retirement.…

Searching for gold: Part II

Interest in buying gold appears to be all the rage. As explained in Part I yesterday, the Google search request “How to buy gold” has…

Searching for gold: Part I

When we see the terms “searching” and “gold” together we don’t first think about Google. The perennial search for gold is associated with myth and…

Will hidden liabilities bring down the euro?

An advertisement changed my life. While working as an investment strategist on Wall Street in 1993, I came across a similar position advertised in The…

Will hidden liabilities bring down the euro?

An advertisement changed my life. While working as an investment strategist on Wall Street in 1993, I came across a similar position advertised in The…

You broke it? You bought it!

The modern British High Street being what it is, most of you probably do a substantial amount of your shopping at chain stores. Food, clothing,…

The emerging global “oil axis”

Two historic things happened this month. First, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping visited Moscow, in an obvious show of support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict.…

Everything to play (or fight?) for

As the old adage goes, “Where there is crisis, lies opportunity.” Well, as crises go, few can top a world war. Although the causes of…

The perennial re-opening of Pandora’s Box

Why the banks didn’t hedge their books properly is as yet unclear, but the most obvious explanation is that their respective Treasury operations were being…

Stirring the net zero pot

My colleague Nick Hubble has a knack for sparking reader engagement, as was demonstrated most recently by his pointing out that the government’s net zero…

The evil twins of inflation and taxes are robbing you blind

“Taxes are the price we pay for civilisation,” claimed Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Judging by the current record high level of taxation in the UK,…