Let voters kick out MPs between elections and watch standards soar April 9, 2014 MARIA Miller’s claims on taxpayers’ cash towards her second home between 2005 and 2009 have been scrutinised in a variety of quarters. First, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards investigated the case after a complaint was submitted and came to her conclusions. Then the House of Commons Standards Committee deliberated and published its verdict. Numerous other [...]
Big four grocers all lose ground to discounters April 9, 2014 BRITAIN’S four biggest supermarket groups all lost market share over the last three months to German discounters Aldi and Lidl, with Sainsbury’s suffering the biggest drop in market share in ten years. Sainsbury’s has until this month been the only one of the big four to resist the pressure of the discounters and hold onto [...]
Future star fund managers revealed April 8, 2014 A number of the industry’s big beasts have moved on, leading some to question the value of active management A NUMBER of the fund management industry’s big names either retired or moved on in 2013, turning the spotlight onto the importance of investors keeping abreast of who is managing their money. But while star managers [...]
Why remote working may be dying April 8, 2014 Homeworkers can be just as productive but risk missing out on the corporate culture UNTIL recently, it looked like remote working was the future. Faster home broadband connections, new services like Skype, and nascent document-sharing technologies raised hopes that the daily office commute would soon be a preserve of the minority. The data backed this [...]
Why are London’s educated young failing to find jobs? April 8, 2014 A new report lays out some of the stark truths behind London’s youth unemployment today. Despite a more highly educated young workforce, and the economic dynamism of the city, the number of unemployed young people remains outsized in comparison to other people in the country. London’s youth unemployment is particularly high in comparison to the [...]
How QE has harmed the economy April 7, 2014 LET ME begin with a confession. I admire former Fed chair Ben Bernanke for undertaking quantitative easing (QE) back in 2008. It was a brave decision, which involved taking a bold step across an unknown monetary horizon. It was also the right decision for the time, as it prevented the money supply from collapsing – [...]
CNBC Comment: Investors beware as banks go coco loco April 7, 2014 INVESTING in banks has become as chancy as having a flutter on the Grand National. False starts, stewards inquiries and the City equivalent of leaping 30 fences – all enlivened by thundering competition. But investors still harbour the hope of backing an unlikely winner. The trade in cocos, a hybrid of debt and equity, has [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Sterling strength and the beggar thy neighbour strategy April 7, 2014 THE BRITISH pound has risen 10 per cent against the US dollar, 6 per cent against the euro, and 11 per cent against the Japanese yen since July of last year. While strength in an economy is generally a good thing, this time may be a little different. The trouble comes from the “what’s next” [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Analyst’s pick April 7, 2014 CHIEF STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Euro-dollar below $1.3650, sterling-yen below ¥169.25, long dollar-Loonie Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: One day to one week Risk trends and relative monetary policy are two themes dominating the foreign exchange trading landscape. The best set-ups should fit both. Euro-dollar is [...]
How social trading levels the field April 7, 2014 The wisdom of crowds looks set to bridge the gap between retail and institutional investors TRADING is no longer a matter of just staying on top of major data prints and corporate releases. As this year’s emerging market crisis demonstrated, economic ripples in far-flung corners of the globe can quickly become market tsunamis. And when [...]