This is a summary of BFIA's favorite TV series, movies, and books from 2025
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The greatest movies and television shows.
And "House of Guinness" Premiere in London.
Over the years, there have been many fraudsters in the art world, but few have been as egregious as rogue dealer Inigo Philbrick, who rose to prominence as one of the leading art dealers of his generation before being exposed. Before the scam failed, Philbrick would sell the same piece of art to several buyers, giving his victims more than £86 million. He was discovered hiding on the South Pacific island of Vanuatu following a worldwide manhunt, and he was subsequently imprisoned. His ascent and decline are chronicled in the two-part documentary The Great Art Fraud (BBC iPlayer).
The most telling thing is that, while the majority of the Western world was going through a period of austerity, everyone involved was living an extravagant life thanks to a booming art market driven by money printing. Even now, everyone who was interviewedincluding Philbrick himselftreats the entire incident as a chance to showcase their "personal brands" and as a lighthearted joke. This is a contemporary parable that offers sobering considerations for individuals considering art investments.
House of Guinness is a deserving addition to Netflix's repertoire of popular drama series, which the streaming service is renowned for. The story of the famous Dublin brewery's ascent after Benjamin Guinness's death in 1868 is fictionalized in the movie. Arthur and Edward, who are joint heirs, negotiate the escalating political unrest caused by the growing calls for Irish independence. A number of outstanding performances support the slick, enjoyable series that Steven Knight has created.
The best books on business.
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards featured Taylor Swift.
In recent years, it has been difficult to avoid Taylor Swift. The pop sensation has been the focus of attention at the Super Bowl and has been courted by presidential candidates. She has undoubtedly succeeded in turning her fame into a substantial amount of cash. Her net worth is estimated by Fortune to be £1.6 billion. Not bad for someone who was initially rejected by several record labels. In Theres Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift, senior editor Kevin Evers of Harvard Business Review examines her career path and provides a business-focused analysis.
While acknowledging Swift's songwriting ability, Evers concentrates on her crucial early partnership with Scott Borchetta, who fostered her artistic vision and recognized the underserved and unexplored market of teenagers hoping for a country music artist who shared their dreams. After that, the two tried to change Swift's appeal while keeping her devoted following. The book is unique, unconventional, and packed with brand development and creation lessons. Swift's business sense and what Evers aptly describes as her "spunk, confidence, and determination" will be appreciated by even those who are tired of the constant coverage of her.
Business memoirs are typically either dull or present chances for blatant score-settling and chest-beating. Instead, Bill Gates' Source Code is surprisingly readable and modest for a tech giant. In the first book about his early years and the founding of Microsoft, Gates admits that his success was influenced by his cozy upbringing, his loving family, and his good fortune in having access to computers while still in school. It is an intriguing look at postwar American life and one of the most prosperous businessmen in history.
The best books about investing.
At the Forbes Media Centennial Celebration, Warren Buffett.
Conglomerates are seen as a monument to the conceit and empire-building of managers. They typically perform worse than more efficient businesses, according to studies. However, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has demonstrated that they can function as holding companies. The Compounders: From Small Acquisitions to Giant Shareholder Returns by Oddbjorn Dybvad, Kjetil Nyland, and Adnan Hadziefendic is one book that can assist you in identifying the next Berkshire. It examines nine additional businesses that have effectively employed a Buffett-style approach, generating substantial returns for their investors.
A decentralized corporate structure, strict discipline when expanding their portfolio, and a ruthlessness about ensuring that the cash flows generated by the various parts of their empires are reinvested in the most efficient way possible are just a few of the similarities that the authors do a great job of highlighting, despite the fact that each of the firms profiled has taken a slightly different path. Although there is no assurance that their stellar performance will continue, the book offers valuable insights that will increase your chances of identifying the next Berkshire.
The viewpoint of the investor is used in almost every investment book. In contrast, Sarah Keohane Williamson's book The CEOs Guide to the Investment Galaxy: Navigating Markets to Build Great Companies examines investing from the viewpoint of businesses looking to raise capital and keep positive relationships with their investors. The book's straightforward writing style cuts through the propaganda and jargon to clearly explain the main points. It is beneficial for investors who do not own or manage businesses to think about things from the viewpoint of those seated across from them.
The best books on politics.
Starmer, Keir.
With Labour performing poorly in the polls and Cabinet rivals circling him, Keir Starmer will have an uneasy Christmas in Downing Street. However, he joins a select group of post-war Labour leaders, including Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, and Tony Blair, because he led the party from opposition to Downing Street in the first place. Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund's book Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer details his journey to triumph.
The book is entertaining and does a great job of capturing every detail, including how Starmer outwitted his opponents and ignored the Corbynites, as well as how close he was to resigning following the disastrous Hartlepool by-election in 2021 and the "Beergate" scandal, when it briefly appeared that both Starmer and his deputy at the time, Angela Rayner, might have to step down. Morgan McSweeney, the campaign manager for Starmers (and chief of staff at Downing Street since October 2024), is the main character. According to the book, Starmer and his group took a long time to plan the campaign that would give them power, but they did not spend nearly as much time organizing what they would do with it once they had it.
Those who grew up in the 1980s and early 1990s might recall the adventure gamebooks that offered multiple options. Bloomberg's Joe Mayes skillfully revives the format in Can You Run the Economy? It's Your Turn to be Chancellor to explain the function of the second most powerful person in government. You have to help win an election while maintaining the nation's financial stability. This unique and insightful book provides a clear summary of the chancellor's actual responsibilities.
The top dramas.
The play "Make It Happen" made its world premiere.
Make It Happen, which debuted at the Edinburgh International Festival in August, told the heartbreaking story of how NatWest became entangled in a bailout that cost British taxpayers billions. This year, NatWest was finally fully returned to private ownership. The play, which was written by James Graham, explores the dramatic rise and fall of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and follows Fred Goodwin's journey from becoming CEO to his ambitious leadership that momentarily turned RBS into the biggest bank in the world.
The relationship between Goodwin and the ghost of his idol, Adam Smith, who pays him a visit and serves as the play's moral compass, is the true heart of the drama. As Succession viewers might anticipate, Brian Cox gave a superb portrayal of the father of modern economics. Although nothing has been confirmed, we would be shocked if the play didn't eventually move to the West End or go on tour the following year. If it does, it's definitely something to keep an eye out for.
We saw Joe Murphy and Joe Robertsons Kyoto in London's Soho Place back in April, and it recently concluded a Broadway run. From the viewpoint of energy lobbyist Donald Pearlman (played by Stephen Kunken), who seeks to sabotage any agreement by sowing discord among the various national delegations and political blocs, it narrates the attempt to reach a global agreement on carbon emissions.
The unwavering leadership of Raul Estrada (Jorge Bosch), who transforms from a modest figure to a figure of steely determination who overcame the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that threatened to derail any consensus, ultimately renders Pearlman's efforts futile. The play is an interesting and thought-provoking theatrical production.
It is undoubtedly a risky move to write a book about growth investing at the height of what many consider to be another tech bubble. However, the co-founder of The Motley Fool website, David Gardner, has a stellar track record to support it. Over the last 20 years, his tips have outperformed the market by an average of 10% annually. Gardner lists several criteria in Rule Breaker Investing: How to Pick the Best Stocks of the Future and Build Lasting Wealth that he believes can assist you in identifying such top performers, both in terms of the share price and the caliber of the company.
Many of the most well-known brands have large fan bases because they are able to appeal to our desire to belong to a group and to achieve and retain a high status within that group. Narrative is one method to accomplish this. Will Storr's book A Story is a Deal: How to Use the Science of Storytelling to Lead, Motivate, and Persuade shows how effective storytelling can change every facet of a company, from marketing to human relations procedures. This book is entertaining and well-written, and it helps readers better understand the power of words and stories.
Because they are far more likely to make needless mistakes that reduce their returns, private investors frequently receive worse results than they could have from a straightforward index-tracker. Wealth manager Barry Ritholtz's book How Not to Invest: The Ideas, Numbers and Behaviors that Destroy Wealth And How to Avoid Them focuses on the mistakes that most seriously harm your wealth, such as focusing too much on forecasts or allowing our emotions to divert us. The book is brimming with insight and serves as a reminder that you can outperform many investors with even a mediocre performance.
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