The energy regulator Ofgem has announced a 1.2% increase in the energy price cap for the first three months of 2025, taking the average household bill to £1,738 – £21 more than what you’re paying under the current price cap. With the energy price cap having already risen by 10% in October, the increase, while small by comparison, piles more pressure on consumers that had hoped energy prices would fall in the new year. The increase will see the average household pay an extra £21 for their energy use per year, or £1.75 per month. Subscribe to MoneyWeek Subscribe to…

The fund manager Peter Lynch was known for his theory that you should “buy what you know”. Of course, this was a bit more than simply buying the brands you encounter in your day-to-day shopping. Lynch also meant companies that you interact with through your job, or through being part of an industry, and he pointed out that you still had to do your homework to understand the business, balance sheet and valuation. But the logic is clear: sometimes the service you get helps you see why a company makes sense as an investment. For me, Trainline (LSE: TRN) is…

Europe is undergoing a crisis of creative confidence. The recent report by Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank, on Europe’s competitiveness revealed a poor innovation record. He noted that “EU companies spent around €270 billion less on research and development [R&D] than their US counterparts in 2021, largely because we have a static industrial structure dominated by the same companies and technologies as decades ago”. His solution was to focus on more venture capital (VC) investing in high-risk projects, as a lack of VC has meant start-ups have been more reliant on bank loans, which are…

American small caps (firms with market capitalisations of up to $2 billion, although some would include companies worth as much as $10 billon) have traditionally been seen as the best place for investors seeking high long-term returns. They have outperformed large caps since 2000, says Jan Willem Berghuis of Van Lanschot Kempen. Over the past 15 years, however, the small fry have fallen from favour and are “struggling” to match the performance of their larger counterparts, says Freddy Colquhoun of JM Finn. The good news is that economic headwinds are abating and the end of uncertainty over the election is…

At the £3.6 billion Polar Capital Technology Trust’s (LSE: PCT) annual general meeting in September, manager Ben Rogoff said, “It doesn’t feel like AI is in a bubble to us – AI is a theme that should dominate every portfolio”. Many historic innovations greatly increased productivity, says Rogoff: horsepower by 50 times, the tractor by four times and the sewing machine by 22 times. AI has the potential to do the same: already, companies are reporting significant efficiency gains. Some 60% of workers today are employed in occupations that did not exist in 1940, he notes. “We cannot know what…