Against the Grain: Google and the output gap: Why it’s time to ditch this outdated concept January 24, 2014 THE CONCEPT of the “output gap” is central to mainstream macroeconomics. It is not merely of academic interest, however. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has a specific requirement to estimate this gap, which it defines formally as “the difference between the current level of activity in the economy and the potential level it could [...]
This Swiss-Japanese tie-up looks a match made in heaven January 23, 2014 It’s fair to say that Japan doesn’t have the greatest demographic profile, with an ageing population putting pressure on the country to undertake cheap money schemes to get the economy moving. While not so good for inflation, the country’s rising tide of pensioners might just be good news for alternative fund managers, who can sell [...]
Victoria Line concrete clean up “nearly done”, says TfL January 23, 2014 After the Victoria Line has suffered from some concrete related problems with its signalling equipment (it's not cement, that's just an ingredient in concrete) – the fun is nearly over. Transport for London have said that cleaning of the fast-setting stuff is nearly done, with testing and fixing of equipment to follow. For now the [...]
We don’t think you’ll be able to watch this 3D printing success story without crying January 23, 2014 For all the alarmism around 3D printing – much of the coverage last year revolved around plastic firearms – it's easy to miss the life-changing progress being made.
Having a child will now cost you £227,266 January 23, 2014 Raising a child now costs over a quarter of a million pounds, according to research released today by insurer LV=. The price of raising a child has risen from £222,458 last year to £227,266 today. The annual "Cost of a Child" report found that education and child care remain the largest items of expenditure. Single [...]
Investment surges in mobile security as market heats up January 23, 2014 Mobile security products are in high demand as companies increasingly allow employees to use their own smartphones and tablets to access sensitive business documents outside the office. VMware said yesterday it would buy mobile security company AirWatch in a deal valued at $1.54bn (£920m) and the cloud software maker’s largest acquisition to date. US-based AirWatch, [...]
5 big things we’ve learned from tech leaders at Davos January 23, 2014 From “The New Digital Context” discussion at Davos yesterday 1. The Internet of Things will be worth $19 trillionCisco chief executive John Chambers said that he expects the market of internet connected devices – excluding PCs, tablets and laptops – to be worth an incredible $19 trillion by 2024. 2. PCs are being left behind [...]
US manufacturing falls to 3-month low after ‘big freeze’ disruptions January 23, 2014 Factories in the US saw a slowdown in activity in January, reflecting slower output and growth in new orders, according to a flash PMI estimate from Markit. The extreme weather the US has seen meant suppliers’ delivery times lengthened their furthest since August 2008. The purchasing managers’ index came in at 53.7 for the first [...]
Sutherland says there is no place for negative views on migration in civilised society January 23, 2014 Peter Sutherland, the non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs, has launched a vehement attack on political parties who, as far as he's concerned, deliberately misrepresent the facts about migration. Speaking at the World Economics Forum in Davos as part of the panel discussion "Immigration, welcome or not?", Sutherland accused migration naysayers of having perceptions that are "totally [...]
80 per cent of users set to abandon Facebook by 2017 January 23, 2014 Facebook is set to lose 80 per cent of its users by 2017, according to researchers at Princeton University. The decline of the world's largest social network was predicted using a model that compares the growth of social media to that of diseases. The authors applied the susceptible, infected, recovered model of disease, which uses [...]