I made millions out of the last debt crisis. Now the wealthy stand to win again | Gary Stevenson

We urgently need a fairer tax system so that rich people like me help solve the fallout from coronavirus, not just profit from it

• Gary Stevenson is an economist and former interest rate trader

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

I made my first million the year Greece went under. I was 24 years old at the time.

I’d attended a presentation given by one of Citibank’s senior economists, in which he explained that government debts of the world’s major economies had grown to dangerous levels, and were continuing to grow. He warned that markets could stop lending to some of these governments, forcing a devastating round of austerity on to already battered economies.

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How can I find a new place to live with social distancing in place

My partner has moved out but my landlord insists I keep on paying the full rent although during lockdown I can’t move

I shared a flat and rental payments with my partner until March when the relationship ended and he moved out. The fully paid-up tenancy lasts until mid June and the notice period is two months, so if I don’t want it to roll over, I need to give notice now. Due to social distancing rules, I don’t know if I’ll be able to move house in June, but equally I can’t afford to keep on paying the rent by myself. I have offered the landlord a reduced monthly rate between June and August, after which I will move out if lockdown is lifted. The landlord, a multi-national corporation, is adamant that I must pay the full market rate if I stay, even though they are unlikely to find a new tenant during the pandemic. I’m faced with the prospect of having to move out while being uncertain as to how I’m going to view, sign up to and move into somewhere new with the social distancing regulations in place.

MD, London

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How to give your home’s paperwork a spring clean ready for selling Nottingham Estate Agents

Before you sell your home, a key task is ensuring you have all your legal paperwork in order and up to date. The coronavirus lockdown may have delayed your plans to sell but, alongside touching up the paintwork and finally shredding that pile of old papers, now could be a perfect time to tick another […]

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The Well Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith review – unwinding with nature

A life-affirming study of the pleasures of tending a plot or garden, and soothing your mind

Sue Stuart-Smith, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, has a unique view of gardening: “I have come to understand that deep existential processes can be involved in creating and caring for a garden.” For her, a garden – such as her own at Serge Hill, Hertfordshire – is far more than just a much loved physical space. It is also a mental space, one that “gives you quiet, so you can hear your thoughts”. When you work with your hands in the garden, weeding or clipping, you free your mind to work through feelings and problems.. By tending your plants, you are also gardening your inner space and, over time, a garden is woven into your sense of identity, becoming a place to “buffer us when the going gets tough”.

It was Wordsworth who said that to walk through a garden is to be “in the midst of the realities of things”, to be immersed in the primal awareness not just of nature’s beauty, but the eternal cycle of the seasons, of life, death and rebirth. The psychoanalyst Carl Jung believed modern technological life had alienated us from the “dark maternal, earthy ground of our being”. He grew his own vegetables and argued that “every human should have a plot of land so that their instincts can come to life again”.

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The Well Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith review – unwinding with nature

A life-affirming study of the pleasures of tending a plot or garden, and soothing your mind

Sue Stuart-Smith, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, has a unique view of gardening: “I have come to understand that deep existential processes can be involved in creating and caring for a garden.” For her, a garden – such as her own at Serge Hill, Hertfordshire – is far more than just a much loved physical space. It is also a mental space, one that “gives you quiet, so you can hear your thoughts”. When you work with your hands in the garden, weeding or clipping, you free your mind to work through feelings and problems.. By tending your plants, you are also gardening your inner space and, over time, a garden is woven into your sense of identity, becoming a place to “buffer us when the going gets tough”.

It was Wordsworth who said that to walk through a garden is to be “in the midst of the realities of things”, to be immersed in the primal awareness not just of nature’s beauty, but the eternal cycle of the seasons, of life, death and rebirth. The psychoanalyst Carl Jung believed modern technological life had alienated us from the “dark maternal, earthy ground of our being”. He grew his own vegetables and argued that “every human should have a plot of land so that their instincts can come to life again”.

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Basement conversions: 11 questions you need to ask if you’re planning on digging down Nottingham Estate Agents

If you have extended up and out, now’s the time to turn your attention downwards. The good news is basement conversions can add between 10-15 per cent to your property’s value, according to Savills. They can add much needed living space, or even be rented out as a separate flat, making them a nice little […]

The post Basement conversions: 11 questions you need to ask if you’re planning on digging down appeared first on OnTheMarket.com blog.

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From Edwardian tiles to a 120-year-old tunnel: how lockdown DIY has led to surprising discoveries

B&Q, Homebase and Screwfix are seeing a surge in business and our mania for home improvement has led to some enthusiasts uncovering hidden treasures – and an increase in injuries to others

Name: DIY discoveries.

Age: Mostly quite new. Though some of the discoveries themselves are quite old. Like over a century.

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