Dan Davies

This is superb from David Starkey on how Britain is being transformed from a place with a distinct identity into a place with none, just like what is happening to Ireland.

The Trump administration has started to realize that batteries are an important general purpose technology.

Palmer Luckey on Erebor, his new bank just valued at over $4B: "We'll have the most conservative loan-to-deposit ratios of any bank in history." "I'm not a finance bro. I want something like Erebor to exist because of and for the sake of my love for these other technologies."

If I had £200–300k inside a single S&S ISA and the goal was to generate around £2,500/month in dividends — while still keeping risk sensible — here’s exactly how I’d think about it. First, let’s be real: doing this with traditional equity dividends is almost impossible. A £250k S&P 500 portfolio at ~1.4% yield pays £3,500/year… that’s £290/month. You’d need £2m+ to hit £2.5k/month from classic dividend stocks alone. But with the new era of covered-call and options-based income ETFs we now have in the UK/EU, the maths finally works without needing millionaire-level capital. My approach would be a balanced split across the funds I already hold and trust: •A core anchor: something like JEPQ for stability, lower volatility, and consistent monthly income. •Then allocate the rest across higher-yield IncomeShares like MAGD, FEPI, YMAP, TSLD, SPYO, etc. These yield 20–30%+ and so far show controlled NAV behaviour. •Blend them so the overall portfolio yield sits around 12–18% rather than chasing extreme risk. At that range, £250k can realistically generate £2,000–£3,000/month — without betting everything on one ultra high-yield product. And importantly: you don’t spend all of it. If your target is £2.5k/month, reinvesting £1,000 back into the same funds each month compounds the capital base and keeps income growing year after year. This isn’t “mega risk.” It’s using modern income ETFs the same way the US has for years — just finally available here. We’re still early in Europe, but this approach makes living off dividends far more achievable than it’s ever been.