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Mississippi Wins

Douglas Carswell helped win the Brexit referendum, then left Britain in frustration to run the Mississippi Centre for Public Policy in a state that has quietly overtaken the UK in GDP per capita. In this episode, I talk to Douglas about why Britain has become, in his words, ungovernable and what investors and policymakers should take from the booming American South.

It's a contrarian, uncomfortable, and genuinely thought-provoking conversation, about decline, fiscal reality, and the unfashionable medicine Carswell thinks Britain will eventually have to swallow. Whether or not you share his politics, the diagnosis of why nothing seems to work is worth a listen.

Recorded on yet another day of Westminster upheaval, the conversation ranges from the structural causes of UK political instability to the hard fiscal maths now closing in on the gilt market. Carswell argues that Blair-era reforms handed power to judges, civil servants and quangos, leaving elected governments "in office, but not in power". The UK is a "buffoonocracy" that no single Prime Minister can fix without changing how Britain is governed.

He makes the provocative case that a UK bond crisis may now be the catalyst that forces real spending discipline and a "May 1979 moment." Along the way, he assesses Nigel Farage, Kemi Badenoch, and Reform's execution risk; why Brexit's opportunities were largely squandered (GDPR, the Working Time Directive, planning paralysis); and the one genuine bright spot, the UK's human capital.

Then he turns to Mississippi's free-market playbook: labour-market and occupational-licensing deregulation, a flat income tax now being phased out entirely, energy a third of UK prices, and school-choice and phonics reforms that lifted the state from 49th to 9th in fourth-grade reading. His message to Britain: the laws of physics aren't different in the American South, but the policies are.

A bracing, contrarian conversation about national decline, fiscal reality, and how the story might still turn around.

This podcast explores stocks, markets, and capital, examines the role of gold in finance, unpacks tax policy and economics, discusses pathways to financial freedom and retirement, explains how interest rates affect investing, features insights from financial advisers, analyzes inflation, recession, and market volatility, covers the actions of central banks, evaluates different assets, addresses inheritance planning, reviews portfolio construction with bonds and an isa, assesses long-term returns and allocation strategies, explores macro trends, and helps listeners understand risk and pensions.

How does someone who started out selling chocolate mousse next to a Brixton brothel, then ran a cigarette-vending round in Weston-super-Mare, end up building national surveillance systems for sovereign governments across the Gulf and Southeast Asia?

In this episode of In The Company of Mavericks, Jeremy is joined by Julian Collett of Blackdown Partners to talk with Simon Tucker, founder and CEO of SRT Marine (LON: SRT), for an unusually candid tour of one of the AIM market's more remarkable stories.

Simon traces SRT's journey from the 2002 acquisition of a forgotten pile of wireless intellectual property, through the pivot from selling AIS ship-tracking transponders to delivering complete maritime domain awareness systems.

The conversation covers how SRT tracks vessels that don't want to be tracked (96% of boats have no transponder), why tankers are "going dark" in the Strait of Hormuz, the GeoVis software "brain" at the centre of the business, the parallel with Anduril, the distinction between civil defence and military defence, sovereign partnerships in Kuwait, Bahrain, the GCC and Southeast Asia, undersea cable protection, the realities of being a long-term growth company on AIM, governance, succession, and the path from a £250m valuation toward £1bn.

Contact Finance Talking for your specialist financial communications training needs.

This podcast explores stocks, markets, and capital, examines the role of gold in finance, unpacks tax policy and economics, discusses pathways to financial freedom and retirement, explains how interest rates affect investing, features insights from financial advisers, analyzes inflation, recession, and market volatility, covers the actions of central banks, evaluates different assets, addresses inheritance planning, reviews portfolio construction with bonds and an isa, assesses long-term returns and allocation strategies, explores macro trends, and helps listeners understand risk and pensions.

Jeremy speaks with Echo Yin, founder and portfolio manager at Varis Partners, fresh from factory visits across the US and Chinese robotics ecosystems. Echo brings an engineer's eye and investor's discipline to one of the most consequential technology races of our time.

They cover why China's global export share has risen despite trade war headwinds, what deflation feels like on the ground in Shanghai, and why the "China is uninvestable" consensus was itself the opportunity. The conversation moves into physical AI and humanoid robotics — where the US still leads on the brain side, but China dominates the hardware and supply chain — and why Echo is backing component suppliers over OEMs at this stage of the cycle. The core holding, Sanhua, illustrates the thesis: a proven electromechanical manufacturer extending its moat into robotics actuators as a key Tesla supplier.

Echo also reflects on the trillion-fold growth in AI compute since 2010, what deflation means for corporate decision-making, how China's consumer preferences are shifting, and why the countries that combine labour, talent, automation, and engineering will define the next era of economic development.

Brought to you by Progressive Equity

This podcast explores stocks, markets, and capital, examines the role of gold in finance, unpacks tax policy and economics, discusses pathways to financial freedom and retirement, explains how interest rates affect investing, features insights from financial advisers, analyzes inflation, recession, and market volatility, covers the actions of central banks, evaluates different assets, addresses inheritance planning, reviews portfolio construction with bonds and an isa, assesses long-term returns and allocation strategies, explores macro trends, and helps listeners understand risk and pensions.

This podcast explores stocks, markets, and capital, examines the role of gold in finance, unpacks tax policy and economics, discusses pathways to financial freedom and retirement, explains how interest rates affect investing, features insights from financial advisers, analyzes inflation, recession, and market volatility, covers the actions of central banks, evaluates different assets, addresses inheritance planning, reviews portfolio construction with bonds and an isa, assesses long-term returns and allocation strategies, explores macro trends, and helps listeners understand risk and pensions.

Brought to you by Progressive Equity

Episode sponsor Finance Talking

Did the AI Look-Through Trade Just Crack?

Broadcom beat consensus but dropped 13% on after-hours trading. CrowdStrike fell 10%. The Kospi crashed 7% intraday on Friday. The bar for AI stocks has moved beyond the trajectory — and the marginal buyer is starting to notice.

Jeremy walks through six interconnected stories shaping the next phase of markets:

— Why Broadcom's "miss" of less than 0.4% triggered a global tech selloff, even good numbers are no longer enough

— Hezbollah's rejection of the US-brokered Lebanon ceasefire and what the Hormuz dark-tanker dynamic means for sustained $100+ oil

— The Fed's openly hawkish pivot from Daly and Schmid ahead of Kevin Warsh's first FOMC on June 16-17

— The 1997-echo currency stress across Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Japan — and why China is emerging as the regional safe haven

— SpaceX's $1.75 trillion IPO on June 12, S&P Dow Jones refusing to bend index rules, and what the inelastic markets hypothesis means for the AI-IPO supercycle

— Why private credit underwriting standards are tightening and what that signals about late-cycle leverage

Jeremy closes with four themes for the coming weeks: the AI guidance trajectory, the Fed pivot, the structural energy regime, and the IPO supply event. Position for volatility. Reduce concentration in mega-cap tech. Watch the dollar against the yen and the rupee. Don't fall for the diplomatic theatre.

Catalyst calendar: ECB rate decision (June 11) | SpaceX IPO debut (June 12) | FOMC + BoJ meetings (June 16-17) | Makerfield by-election (June 18) | US core PCE (June 25)

Mentioned in this episode: Broadcom, CrowdStrike, Nvidia, SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, Cliffwater, Partners Group, Blackstone | Mary Daly, Jeff Schmid, Isabel Schnabel, Kevin Warsh | The inelastic markets hypothesis (Gabaix & Koijen), Rob Arnott & Lillian Wu on passive distortion

Find Jeremy at: HyperNormalTimes on Substack

This podcast explores stocks, markets, and capital, examines the role of gold in finance, unpacks tax policy and economics, discusses pathways to financial freedom and retirement, explains how interest rates affect investing, features insights from financial advisers, analyzes inflation, recession, and market volatility, covers the actions of central banks, evaluates different assets, addresses inheritance planning, reviews portfolio construction with bonds and an isa, assesses long-term returns and allocation strategies, explores macro trends, and helps listeners understand risk and pensions.

In this episode, Jeremy is joined by David Seaman for a conversation with Henry Rayner and Jamie Hartley, two fund managers at Ennismore, about how they've developed their craft as small-cap investors through the firm's Academy programme.

We discuss:

• How the Ennismore Academy throws new joiners into pitching their own ideas from week one, and why that builds the muscle for genuine idea generation
• The transition from mechanical screens to lateral thinking, and why building a "bank of companies" takes years
• Useful jumping-off points beyond valuation screens: insider buying, special situations, spinoffs
• Decomposing expected returns into free cash flow yield, earnings growth, and rerating
• Why South Korea may be where Japan was three years ago — and how reforms under the new administration are driving genuine governance change
• Henry's thesis on Saramin, a Korean job classifieds business trading below its net cash balance
• The post-COVID biopharma destocking cycle and why sell-side models missed the bullwhip effect
• Jamie's positions in Spirax (Watson Marlow, steam solutions) and Sotera Health
• Portfolio construction in a multi-manager model and why uncorrelated theses matter
• Using AI to steel-man investment theses

Whether you're a professional investor, a private investor looking to deepen your craft, or someone curious about how young fund managers learn the trade, this conversation offers a window into the discipline, patience, and lateral thinking that go into small-cap investing.

Brought to you by Progressive Equity

Episode sponsor Finance Talking

Disclaimer: The podcast and the information, statements, opinions, interpretations and beliefs contained in it are those of the participants and are provided in good faith, but no representation or warranty, either expressed or implied, is provided in relation to their accuracy, completeness or reliability, and no person shall be entitled to place any reliance on the views and opinions expressed. The information provided is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, investment, financial, tax or legal advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security or other investment or pursue any investment strategy. Neither the podcast nor any of the information discussed constitutes an inducement, offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any securities.

small-cap investing, Ennismore fund managers, South Korea value investing, biopharma destocking cycle, net cash balance sheet investing, margin of safety

This podcast explores stocks, markets, and capital, examines the role of gold in finance, unpacks tax policy and economics, discusses pathways to financial freedom and retirement, explains how interest rates affect investing, features insights from financial advisers, analyzes inflation, recession, and market volatility, covers the actions of central banks, evaluates different assets, addresses inheritance planning, reviews portfolio construction with bonds and an isa, assesses long-term returns and allocation strategies, explores macro trends, and helps listeners understand risk and pensions.

This week, the market told two stories and chose to believe the second. The first played out in the bond market. The second played out in technology.

In this episode we unpack why the vigilantes won the week and then stood down, how Andy Burnham was forced to recant his economic platform without a single vote being cast, what NVIDIA's parabolic demand means for the AI CapEx broadening across Asia, why three trillion dollars of imminent listings will reshape portfolio allocation, and why Kevin Warsh's swearing-in at the White House sets up June 16 as the most consequential FOMC meeting in years. We also examine the K-shaped consumer split exposed by Walmart, the structural Hormuz toll question Iran is quietly institutionalising with Oman, and the gap between Rachel Reeves' price-cap proposals and operating reality on the British high street.

Sponsored by Finance Talking and Brought to you by Progressive Equity

Follow me at HyperNormalTimes on Substack.

Primary: bond vigilantes, NVIDIA earnings, SpaceX IPO, Kevin Warsh Fed, AI CapEx, sovereign bond yields, 30-year Treasury, G7 finance ministers, Anthropic revenue, quantum computing CHIPS Act

Secondary: Jensen Huang parabolic demand, KOSPI rally, SK Hynix, Andy Burnham fiscal rules, Rachel Reeves price cap, FOMC minutes, Yardeni Buzz Lightyear, Citi Lekovich sentiment, Buffett ratio, Strait of Hormuz tolls, Iran Oman, Walmart K-shaped consumer, University of Michigan sentiment, IPO super cycle, OpenAI IPO

Long-tail / search: why did bond yields fall on hawkish Fed minutes, what does NVIDIA Q1 2026 earnings mean for AI cycle, SpaceX IPO valuation $2 trillion, Kevin Warsh Fed chair June FOMC, Iran Hormuz toll system explained, K-shaped economy retail earnings, three trillion IPO super cycle equity allocation

This podcast explores stocks, markets, and capital, examines the role of gold in finance, unpacks tax policy and economics, discusses pathways to financial freedom and retirement, explains how interest rates affect investing, features insights from financial advisers, analyzes inflation, recession, and market volatility, covers the actions of central banks, evaluates different assets, addresses inheritance planning, reviews portfolio construction with bonds and an isa, assesses long-term returns and allocation strategies, explores macro trends, and helps listeners understand risk and pensions.

For the first time in 21 years, Nationwide Building Society members will see a genuine choice on their AGM ballot paper. Jeremy McKeown sits down with James Sherwin-Smith, fintech executive, former MasterCard senior leader, and Oliver Wyman strategist, who is standing as the first member-nominated candidate for the Nationwide board since 2005.

In this episode, James reveals what it actually takes to challenge the UK's largest building society: an FCA hearing, 350 hand-collected paper nomination forms, and a year-long battle over access to the member register. We explore why the Virgin Money acquisition went through without a member vote, why mutuals matter for everyone (not just their customers), and what every Nationwide member needs to know before ballots land in June ahead of the AGM on 15 July.

Whether you're a Nationwide member, a building society customer, or simply interested in corporate governance and financial democracy, this conversation exposes a quiet erosion of member rights and what one maverick is doing about it.

• Why Nationwide's acquisition of Virgin Money never went to a member vote — and what it revealed about the society's governance
• How the "quick vote" box on Nationwide's ballot steers c. 85% of votes straight to the board's recommendation
• The story behind James's FCA hearing (the first in 30 years) and his statutory fight for access to the member register
• Why the bar for member nominations was raised five times higher in 2000 — and what that means for democracy in mutuals
• How a strong mutual sector keeps the wider banking market honest (and why mutuals didn't need bailing out in 2008)
• Why virtual-only AGMs are bad for member accountability
• The difference between member ownership in theory and in practice at a £300bn institution
• What every Nationwide member should do when their ballot arrives in June

• James's campaign website: james4nationwide.co.uk
• Connect with James on LinkedIn
• Jeremy on Substack: Hypernormal Times
• Email Jeremy: [email protected]
• Sponsor: Progressive Equity
• Training partner: Finance Talking

Nationwide Building Society, Nationwide AGM 2026, James Sherwin Smith, member-nominated director, building society governance, Virgin Money acquisition, UK mutuals, mutual building society, corporate governance, FCA, financial democracy, member voting rights, Nationwide ballot, quick vote, cooperative banking, retail banking UK, Jeremy McKeown, In the Company of Mavericks

Markets at all-time highs. A closed strait. The hottest inflation prints in years. The UK government is hanging by a thread. A US-China summit that resolved precisely nothing. We ask the only question that matters right now: how long can you keep running on empty?

This week's episode covers six themes that are all pointing in the same direction.

What We Cover

1. The Global Equity Market Paradox

The S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index are at or near all-time highs. Oil is at $107. PPI is at a three-year high. The TACO trade (Trump Always Chickens Out) has been embarrassingly profitable — but a new Tex-Mex metaphor has entered the chat: NACHO. Not Any Chance Hormuz Opens. Michael Green warns the equity bid is structural, not rational — and when that unwinds, there are no conventional warning signs.

2. Oil Inventory Maths — The Runway Is Running Out

The IEA reports global stockpiles fell 250 million barrels in March and April alone. JP Morgan's note — The Illusion of Plenty — puts OECD inventories at operational stress levels by early June and operational floor levels by September. Capital Economics sees $130–$140/barrel as the base case if Hormuz stays shut. And even a reopening tomorrow can't fix things fast enough — mine clearance, vessel redeployment, infrastructure repair: minimum two to three months.

The canary in the coal mine turned out to be in Havana. Cuba ran out of fuel entirely. The energy minister's quote: "We have absolutely no fuel oil. We have absolutely no diesel." That's the Hormuz crisis on a human scale.

3. Inflation is No Longer Just About Energy

US CPI: 3.8% year-on-year. PPI: 6%, the highest since December 2022. Truck freight costs up 8.1% — the biggest jump since 2009. Services inflation up 1.2% in a single month. Real average hourly earnings have turned negative for the first time since April 2023. The Bank of England's Megan Greene: "Inflation risks are entirely on the upside." The second-round effects are now landing. Global bond yields are at one-year highs.

4. Kevin Warsh's Impossible New Job

Confirmed 54–45 — the narrowest Senate margin since Fed chair confirmation became required in 1977. For context: Powell got 84, Yellen got 56. Warsh scraped through. On his first day as chair-elect, PPI printed at 6%. CME FedWatch now prices a 30% chance of a rate hike by year-end. His first FOMC meeting: June 16th. It may be the most consequential since Volcker walked in on August 14th, 1979. We know how that one ended.

5. The UK: Where the Bond Market Is the Government

Labour lost nearly 1,500 council seats. Reform took 1,451 of them. Gordon Brown turned up — and when Gordon Brown is the answer, someone is asking the wrong question. Wes Streeting walked into Downing Street. 94 MPs publicly called for Starmer to go. Andy Burnham booked his return ticket. The pound had its worst week since November 2024. The 30-year gilt sits near 5.7% — above every developed world peer. Bloomberg Economics estimates the May yield move alone adds £2 billion to the UK debt interest bill. Gilt traders are underweight. The market is now pricing the worst-case scenario for bonds — and Andy Burnham is it.

6. The Summit That Resolved Nothing

YMCA played at the state banquet. Xi promised Trump rose seeds. Jensen Huang boarded Air Force One in Alaska. Boeing was promised 200 jets — the market expected 500; Boeing fell 4%. Xi made clear Taiwan is the most important issue in US-China relations and that independence is "fundamentally incompatible with peace." Trump didn't answer when asked about it. The $14 billion arms package for Taipei remains unsigned. China called the Iran conflict one that "should never have happened" — diplomatic code for neutrality, unless major concessions materialise elsewhere. Like Taiwan, perhaps.

As Gerard Baker put it in The Times, this is the first time in nearly a century that an American president met another power's leader on equal terms. Trump came seeking help, not making demands.

The Bottom Line

Inflation has moved beyond energy into services and freight. The UK bond market is delivering daily verdicts on a government in freefall. Oil inventory maths has weeks of runway left. The summit didn't deliver on Iran. Hormuz is being normalised under Iranian control — not reopened. Equities are at records. Something is going to break. The question is what, when, and whether Kevin Warsh has any idea what's walking toward him on June 16th.

Jackson Browne told us in 1977: "I'm running on empty, and I'm running blind."

People & Institutions Referenced

Michael Green · Michael Burry · Jensen Huang · Kevin Warsh · Paul Volcker · Keir Starmer · Andy Burnham · Wes Streeting · Angela Rayner · Gordon Brown · Kemi Badenoch · Nigel Farage · Megan Greene (Bank of England) · Jim Lee (EIU) · Gerard Baker · Donald Trump · Xi Jinping · Saudi Aramco CEO · JP Morgan · IEA · Capital Economics · CME FedWatch · TD Securities · Morgan Stanley · Bloomberg Economics

Sponsor

Finance Talking — specialist financial training for capital markets, business finance, and communications. Clients include Rio Tinto, HSBC, Unilever, and Shell. Virtual, in-person, and e-learning options available. Please tell them Jeremy sent you.

Brought to you by Progressive Equity.

Keywords

oil price crisis · Strait of Hormuz · US inflation CPI PPI 2025 · Kevin Warsh Federal Reserve · UK gilt crisis · UK Labour leadership crisis · Andy Burnham · Trump Xi summit Beijing · equity market all-time highs · TACO trade NACHO trade · Michael Green passive investing · oil inventory IEA · Jackson Browne running on empty · macro investing podcast · active investor podcast · capital markets 2025

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In the Company of Mavericks — helping serious active investors navigate market volatility, protect capital, and find new ways to grow wealth in radically uncertain times.

⚠️ Nothing in this episode constitutes investment advice. For information and entertainment only. You are responsible for your own financial decisions.

In this episode of In The Company of Mavericks, we tackle the most requested topic since the podcast launched: the fundamentals of money and investing, and how to introduce these vital concepts to children, grandchildren, and the next generation.

Host Jeremy McKeown is joined by Andy Craig, founder of Plain English Finance and author of the bestselling book How to Own the World, alongside Josh Sandford, investment director at Dowgate Wealth, with two decades of experience guiding clients through market cycles.

Whether you're a beginner investor, a parent wanting to teach your kids about money, or a seasoned investor revisiting first principles, this conversation delivers actionable insights on building long-term wealth, navigating volatility, and avoiding the most common investing mistakes.

Finance Talking provides specialist financial training around capital markets, business finance, and communications, with virtual, in-person, and low-cost e-learning courses. Their clients include Rio Tinto, HSBC, Unilever, and Shell. Mention Jeremy when you get in touch.

Visit Jeremy's Substack: HyperNormalTimes.

• Why UK financial literacy lags behind international peers, and the £20 trillion opportunity cost
• The crucial difference between investing and trading (and why conflating them destroys wealth)
• How compound interest truly works, and why 60% of UK adults don't understand it
• The main asset classes every investor should know: cash, bonds, equities, property, commodities, and precious metals
• Why asset allocation matters more than stock picking
• The "100 minus your age" rule (and why it should now be 120 minus your age)
• How to stay the course during market volatility and drawdowns
• The truth about inflation, monetary debasement, and why nominal returns mislead
• Gold, silver, and Bitcoin as inflation hedges
• The rise of passive investing and its structural risks for capital markets
• Whether AI infrastructure spending signals a bubble or a cycle
• How to think about buying property versus renting and investing
• Why time is the young investor's greatest asset

1. Financial literacy is a silver bullet. Understanding how money and investing work dramatically increases your chances of building wealth over a lifetime.

2. Investing is not trading. Investing harnesses real economic growth and human progress. Trading is largely a zero-sum game where 78–80% of retail participants lose money.

3. Time is your greatest asset. Get rich slowly. £5,000 invested in a Junior ISA at birth, compounded at 10%, becomes £945,000 by retirement.

4. Know the asset classes. Cash, bonds, equities, property, commodities, and precious metals each play a different role in a balanced portfolio.

5. Asset allocation beats stock picking. Use the "120 minus your age" heuristic to balance defensive and aggressive holdings.

6. Risk is not just volatility. The risk of doing nothing — sitting in cash and losing purchasing power to inflation — is often greater.

7. Think in real terms, not nominal. Monetary debasement is the real story behind asset price inflation.

8. Ignore the noise. The average equity investor underperforms the market by about 700 basis points because they react to news. Main Street is not Wall Street.

9. Property: think in decades. Don't fall for FOMO. Compare rental yields, salary multiples, and opportunity costs before buying.

10. Stay the course. Pound-cost average, diversify, and let compounding do the heavy lifting.

Andy Craig is the founder of Plain English Finance and author of How to Own the World, one of the UK's most popular personal finance books. After a 25-year career in the City, Andy now dedicates his work to improving financial literacy across the UK. Find him at plainenglishfinance.

Josh Sandford is investment director at Dowgate Wealth with over 20 years of experience managing discretionary portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and pension funds.

• How to Own the World — Andy Craig
• The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
• Rich Dad Poor Dad — Robert Kiyosaki
• The Ascent of Money — Niall Ferguson
• Money: A Story of Humanity — David McWilliams
• Broken Money — Lyn Alden
• The Secret History of Gold — Dominic Frisby
• Simple but Not Easy — Richard Oldfield

Keywords: financial literacy UK, how to start investing, investing for beginners, compound interest, asset allocation, ISA vs pension, passive investing risks, gold as inflation hedge, Bitcoin investing, teaching kids about money, Andy Craig How to Own the World, Plain English Finance, Galgate Wealth, Josh Sandford, Jeremy McEwen, In The Company of Mavericks podcast, UK personal finance, monetary debasement, real returns, S&P 500 ETF, generational wealth, stocks and shares ISA, get rich slowly, investing vs trading

In this episode, I talk to Doomberg following our last chat in early March, and he expands on his thoughts that the Iran War was a catastrophic error with significant strategic consequences for the World.

As usual, Doomberg doesn't hold back. China has entered the chat just as the UAE has exited OPEC, putting the instability among the Gulf countries and the broader Middle East into perspective.

Despite the demands of the AI hyperscalers, the world is fundamentally long on hydrocarbons, and what the events of the last 10 weeks have demonstrated is that the constraint on energy supply is political, not geological.

Brought to you by Progressive Equity & Finance Talking.