Ben Judge
Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.
Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.
Latest articles by Ben Judge
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The charts that matter: global bond yields take a dive
Charts As government bond yields around the world take a big tumble, we look at the charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: gold back on the rise as the dollar continues to slide
Charts Gold has recovered much of this year’s losses, while the US dollar continues to weaken. Here’s what happened this week in the charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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28 May 1937: the Volkswagen car company is formed
Features On this day in 1937, Volkswagen, now the world's second-biggest vehicle-maker, was founded as the 'Society to Prepare the German People’s Car'.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: a calamitous week for bitcoin hodlers
Charts Cryptocurrency bitcoin took a mighty tumble this week, while wider markets sold off too. Here’s what happened to the charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: inflation gives markets a scare
Charts Markets took fright this week as it looked like inflation was picking up in the US. Here’s what happened to the charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: Amazon hits a bump in the road
Charts Amazon shares slid back this week despite results surprising to the upside. Here’s what happened to the charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: copper hits a ten-year high
Charts The price of copper has surged to its highest since the summer of 2011. Here’s what happened to the other charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: another big bitcoin crash
Charts Bitcoin suffered another of its big corrections this week. Here's how that's affected the charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: the dollar extends its fall
Charts The US dollar took quite the tumble this week. Here’s how the charts that matter most to the global economy reacted.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: gold up; dollar down
Charts Gold rallied a little this week, while the US dollar drifted. Here’s how the charts that matter most to the global economy reacted.
By Ben Judge Published
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The charts that matter: the US dollar flexes its muscles
Charts The US dollar continued to strengthen this week. Here’s how the charts that reflect what matters most to the global economy reacted.
By Ben Judge Published
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The charts that matter: commodity prices pause for breath
Charts Commodity prices took a breather this week. Here’s how the charts that reflect what matters most to the global economy reacted.
By Ben Judge Published
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The charts that matter: the Fed puts the cat right in among investors’ pigeons
Charts With the US Federal Reserve signalling its relaxed attitude to inflation, markets went a little haywire towards the end of this week. Here’s what happened to the charts that matter the most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Published
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The charts that matter: tech stocks bounce as Biden throws cash around
Charts In a week when US politicians approved $1.9trn in stimulus spending and tech stocks paused their selloff, we look at what’s happened to the charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: tech-stock sell off gathers pace
Charts US stocks, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index in particular, took a big tumble this week. We look at how that’s affected the charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Published
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Furlough extension, corporation tax and green investment – the main points of the Budget
News Rishi Sunak delivered his 2021 Budget, with measures to extend coronavirus support, get the economy back on its feet, and some first steps in paying for it al. Here are the main points.
By Ben Judge Published
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The charts that matter: rising bond yields send markets into a tizz
Charts Markets suffered a chaotic week as bond yields continued to climb. We look at how the week’s events have affected the charts that matter most to the global economy.
By Ben Judge Published
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24 February 1981: Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer announce their engagement
Features On this day in 1981, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer made their engagement official in front of the world's press at Buckingham Palace.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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22 February 1974: riots break out at the “Patty Hearst ransom” food handouts
Features On this day in 1974, people rioted at food distribution centres in San Francisco, set up as part of a ransom payment for kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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The charts that matter: bond investors feel the pain
Charts In a week when Germany had to start paying to borrow money again, we take a look at how the charts that matter most to the global economy have fared.
By Ben Judge Published
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17 February 1958: CND – the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament – is launched
Features On this day in 1958, as the nuclear arms race hotted up, 5,000 people crammed in to Westminster’s Central Hall to witness the launch of CND, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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11 February 1990: Nelson Mandela is released from prison
Features On this day in 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 26 years, as South Africa began the process of dismantling apartheid.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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11 February 1826: England gets its third university
Features London University – later University College, London – was founded on this day in 1826, becoming in the process England's third university.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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8 February 1971: Nasdaq begins trading
Features On this day in 1971, America’s “National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations” – or Nasdaq exchange – began trading.
By Ben Judge Last updated
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