16 Mar 2026
Good evening. With thousands of funds to choose from, and a market that won’t sit still, I offer a starting point for investors new and old. Check out our list of 25 funds you should be considering. Plus, Questor takes a look at the market instability that predates the war in Iran, and my colleagues examine the immediate economic damage facing households.
In today’s edition
A financial storm is still brewing beyond the Middle East war
The families hit by doubling heating oil prices
I can’t open a bank account because I’m ‘too rich’
Everybody lives in interesting times
Investing is for the long term and it has a long history to prove its value
James Baxter-Derrington
Investment Editor
Questor: Market trouble long predates the war
There’s more than just the Iran headlines giving investors the jitters in 2026 | Credit: Alireza Sotakbar/ISNA via AP
Concerned commentary over the state of the markets did not begin in late February.
While the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has brought a swathe of fresh concerns to market watchers, one of the greatest risks is that it also masks the problems that came before it.
This week’s Questor examines the trio of issues that haven’t gone away simply because we’ve stopped looking. From AI to private markets, Russ Mould shines a light on the issues you mustn’t forget.
Chart of the week:
Price transmission
For most of us, the volatility of the oil price as a result of the ongoing war in Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz remains theoretical. What may happen to our energy bills after the Ofgem cap is reset for the summer is a distant notion, and one we’re all hoping won’t be a replay of 2022.
However, for many in rural Britain and Northern Ireland, the impact of the war has already made its presence felt.
As this week’s chart shows, the average price for heating oil skyrocketed immediately. Homeowners who rely on this to heat their homes are now enduring cancelled orders, bills more than doubling and no price cap to help them.
This morning, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed some help is on the way, but in very limited capacity.
It’s not the only swift impact to be felt by homeowners. Almost 500 mortgage products were pulled in just 48 hours last week as lenders feared the looming economic toll.
How this ends, nobody knows – but it’s going to be a rough ride along the way.
What I’ve been reading
We live to be outraged these days. From whatever vantage point you hold on society, chances are you’ve reacted emotionally to something lately, lashing out because X has proven to be exactly what you always knew them to be, or Y has plumbed yet further depths of idiocy you couldn’t imagine.
The latest round of storm, meet teacup is the furore over the Bank of England’s decision to end the brief history of historical figures on our banknotes. Rather than explain why this is neither a sign of Starmer’s wokery nor the end of a storied history, I’ll let Oliver Kamm’s leader speak for itself.
As some antidote to rapid rage, let me recommend two articles that will direct you to further reading. First, does anyone actually care about Christopher Marlowe’s plays, or do we just like him as Shakespeare’s foil?
And secondly, I was gutted to learn of the death of the author whose works finally convinced me of galaxy-spanning sci-fi as a genre. Dan Simmons, whose Hyperion Cantos are sorely underappreciated, died last month, but – as I only learnt from obituaries – the man was a master of several genres.
In case you missed it
The presumption that wealth is an automatic alarm bell is becoming deeply embedded in our culture | Credit: Scott Hortop Travel/Alamy
Is it a crime to be rich in Britain? Ask some of the biggest banks, and the answer may surprise you.
Here, Neil Record, a former Bank of England economist and Telegraph Money columnist, shares a remarkable account of navigating what should be a simple task: giving a bank your money.
And here are two more articles you don’t want to miss:
- ’‘They had us over a barrel’: The uphill battle to insure a home with a wood burner.
- Unintended consequences. £48bn wiped from rental property market as landlords flee sector.
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