The S&P500 says the Cuban missile crisis never happened April 17, 2014 What was the scariest period of the Cold War? It's commonly accepted as being the Cuban missile crisis, a standoff in October 1962, and widely thought of as the closest we've come to all out nuclear conflict. Lars Christensen, chief analyst at Danske Bank and a fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, suggests that financial [...]
What you need to know before the open April 17, 2014 European markets are expected to open flat this morning as poorer than expected results from both Google and IBM offset the well-received dovish comments of Federal Reserve chair Jane Yellen. Google shares dipped as much as five per cent in after hours trading last night, after it reported revenues for the first quarter of the [...]
Currency movements hit Diageo sales April 17, 2014 Diageo, the world's largest spirits maker, has reported a rise of 0.3 per cent in organic net sales growth for the nine months ended 31 March. However, organic net sales fell by 1.3 per cent for the quarter. Diageo is having a tough time in emerging markets due to currency volatility and worries over the [...]
Asian markets rise as Yellen reaffirms commitment to low rates April 17, 2014 Asian markets have seen minor gains after the US posted better than expected industrial production figures, and the chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen reaffirmed the Fed's commitment to supporting the recovery. Investors were reassured by Yellen's remarks to the Economic Club of New York that the US would "likely require low real interest [...]
Back to work: Real pay starts rising again after six years of pain April 17, 2014 THE SQUEEZE in real pay-packets that has hit workers over most of the last six years is coming to an end, with earnings finally rising faster than prices. Average total pay rose by 1.7 per cent in the December to February period compared to a year earlier – higher than the latest rate of inflation, [...]
Women in jobs hit a record high April 17, 2014 THE PROPORTION of women employed in the UK has struck another all-time record high, as the workplace gender gap continues to narrow. In the three months to February, the proportion of women aged 16 to 64 in the UK who are employed rose 0.5 percentage points to 67.6 per cent. The figure brings women within [...]
Freelancers and over-50s drive huge rise in employment April 17, 2014 THE RAPID improvement to the UK labour market has been spurred by a surge in the number of freelancers as well as an increasing number of older workers. The five-year low for unemployment announced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday has been driven particularly by 146,000 new self-employed workers in the three months [...]
UK firms boost marketing budgets to 14 year record April 17, 2014 THE IPA bellwether report, seen as an indicator of the wider economy, today reveals that marketing budgets have seen their biggest upward revision for more than 14 years during the first quarter of 2014. The report’s authors described the findings as: “the most upbeat assessment of business and marketing spend since the survey first started [...]
Nato steps up military activity in east Europe April 17, 2014 DEFENCE organisation Nato has stepped up its military presence in eastern Europe amid concerns that the interim government is losing control of a tense standoff with pro-Russian forces. Secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen confirmed yesterday that additional planes, ships and land vehicles will be deployed to prepare for intervention. “NATO will protect every ally and [...]
Fed regions see growth after weather shock April 17, 2014 YESTERDAY’S Federal Reserve analysis noted an improvement in business conditions since the end of severe weather earlier this year. According to the Fed’s beige book, most regions reported that the economic climate improved between February and early April. Fed chair Janet Yellen reinforced the message that policy would remain loose in a speech yesterday, saying [...]