Inflation: will it be back?
29 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 160 views]
There’s something oddly perverse about economic policy. When prices are cheap, thanks to cheap imports from China, consumers are happy. The Bank of England lowers the rate of interest, in turn making us feel even better off. When times are getting tougher, and the price of oil makes us feel the cost of running our [...]
Dow hits high as oil falls
29 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 167 views]
There has been lots of bad news coming out of the US of late. And top of the bad news pile is the US housing market. Recent analysis on Moodys.com has predicted that 20 metro areas, out of 379 across the US, could see property prices crash, or at least fall by more than 10 [...]
US markets hit new highs in 2006, on inflation hopes, but do they flatter to deceive
29 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 160 views]
“Flattery is a false coin that is only current thanks to our vanity” said the 17th Century French writer, Fran#231;ois de La Rochefoucauld. 2006 saw markets in the US hit all time highs, while hopes that inflation is back under control have led to renewed optimism, both in the US and across the pond. But, [...]
2007: which way for sterling?
28 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 161 views]
2006 was a traumatic period for the dollar. In fact back in November, the dollar passed a milestone, falling to $1.30 to the euro, while as of this morning sterling was sitting at $1.96. With the US economy expected to slow while the eurozone at last starts to take up the slack left by Uncle [...]
Rate of interest, what next?
22 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 160 views]
Six weeks ago, the Bank of England surprised no-one when it upped the rate of interest. Now, the question on economists’, borrowers’ and lenders’ lips (so that’s just about everyone) should be; what next? Was the hike to 5 percent a temporary rise? One that is likely to be followed by sharp falls in 2007, [...]
Weaker growth in 2007 to cause breach of fiscal rules
21 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 173 views]
With the Chancellor shifting his borrowing target goal posts almost as often as Jose Mourinho is referred to the Football Association, one persistent economic enigma has been, and is, whether Gordon Brown will meet his fiscal rules or not. According to calculations from Centre of Business and Economics research, with the economy likely to slow [...]
Goodbye to 2006
20 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 188 views]
This is the last issue of Investment and Business News this year. And we thought we would end the year with a look back at how things changed in 2007 with the economy. In January, it was all very different. The UK was moving forward in a low gear, and was projected to grow at [...]
RICS sees modest fall from two year high
19 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 153 views]
Here we go again – it’s that time of the month, when the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) publishes the results of its latest survey, when it asks members whether house prices are up or down. It takes the difference between the percentage number of those who said house prices were up, and the [...]
Web designers get the cream
19 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 173 views]
Talking of comings and goings, it appears the poor old web designer and their like have seen his or her stock rise and fall with the markets. Back in the late ’90s, web expertise seemed to be the IT skill to have, but within a few short beats of the cruel economic heart beat, your [...]
BT dials equity number
19 Dec 2006 [0 Comments | 168 views]
So which way do you run? Do you go with the herd? Or do you go the other way? Going against markets can be a brave act, but in the long run, if you get the timing right, it can also be very profitable. Take the recent rises and falls of the markets. The savvy [...]
