Basket-case UK gets waterproof bottom
26 Feb 2010 [0 Comments | 604 views]
The knives were being sharpened. Jim Rogers was at it, with the legendary investor calling the UK a basket case. On one side of the great divide we were told sterling would crash if the government didn’t slash spending immediately. The other half said sterling would crash if the government slashed spending too soon. Business [...]
Friday snippets – House price recovery stutters, and Goldman comes under Bernanke antenna
26 Feb 2010 [0 Comments | 189 views]
If there’s a correlation between the amount of news and the economy’s woes, then now is the time to worry. There is simply too much happening at the moment to squeeze it all in. Goldman Sachs is in trouble again. The issues at the bank were referred to here the other day; see: Will Goldman [...]
Google boxes with shadow of protectionism
26 Feb 2010 [1 Comment | 279 views]
We now know the markets don’t always get it right. For one thing, madness of crowds can infect markets; that is why we get economic bubbles, and that is why we got mortgage securitisation and the credit crunch. We should know that markets can send us down a blind alley. For years the UK economy [...]
Pound will crash if budget deficit is cut too soon, warns bank
25 Feb 2010 [2 Comments | 726 views]
Now the row of Britain’s fiscal deficit has reached new heights. George Osborne finally starts putting some meat on his plans to slash spending, and yet the IMF comes out in support of maintaining spending for a while longer. Meanwhile, a currency trader has said if the fiscal debt is cut too soon, the pound [...]
Can bankers’ bonuses be justified?
25 Feb 2010 [3 Comments | 675 views]
It seems bankers are about as popular as Lord Voldermort at the moment. And bankers’ bonuses are being greeted as if they were a curse from the dark realm. RBS is on the front line. It made a £3.6 billion loss last year, and as you will also recall had £53 billion of taxpayers’ money [...]
Europe stumbles over US woes
24 Feb 2010 [0 Comments | 382 views]
Latest data from US and Europe makes markets fret US safe from Europe’s problems Europe vulnerable to US problems Could carry trade mark II implode? You know, it is all a tad unfair. Yesterday was a bad day in the US, and markets in Europe suffered. The last few weeks have seen a string of [...]
China heading for recession, and the yuan myth
24 Feb 2010 [2 Comments | 1,701 views]
Two bits of news developed yesterday relating to China. Well, one bit of news was more an interesting article that made a rather good point about the yuan. The other news was based on the views of one of the world’s leading economists who has predicted a nasty economic crisis in the making in China. [...]
Guru warns of bunch of sovereign defaults
23 Feb 2010 [0 Comments | 326 views]
The sovereign debt crisis won’t lie down. Kenneth Rogoff is one of that select band of economists who can make a genuine claim to have predicted the banking crisis. He, along with Carmen Reinhart, penned one of the better books on the economic crisis – This time it is different. And the duo have also [...]
Is Toyota a victim of bullying?
23 Feb 2010 [0 Comments | 258 views]
It seems there is no sign of an end to the bullying. Despite the media’s spotlight, lapels are still be shaken. There have been no official complaints yet, just a whiff here and a hint there that there’s more to come. The US government may be the worst culprit. The media are to blame too. Yes, [...]
Mandy and Osborne in battle of ideas
22 Feb 2010 [2 Comments | 408 views]
So George Osborne reveals his big idea for reducing debt: Privatising the banks and letting taxpayers buy shares at a subsidised price. The idea does have some merits, but it also has its faults. Meanwhile, media reports suggest Peter Mandelson is working on a scheme that really does have the germ of a good idea [...]
