National Grid bonds are not without risk September 14, 2011 INFLATION stealthily redistributes wealth from those with savings to those with debts – which is why highly indebted governments often turn a blind eye to it. But as important as it is to beat inflation, your investment strategy should be driven by facts, not fear. For those who missed out on the National Savings and [...]
Spotting the very best in charge and credit cards September 14, 2011 REMEMBER when the American Express Gold Card was the celebrity’s payment card of choice in the movies? Well, times have changed. Every bank is offering exclusive cards to its premium customers now – they’re always keen to sign up City high-fliers. But which bank is offering the best deal? Kevin Mountford from MoneySupermarket.com says: “None [...]
China lies at the heart of euro survival September 14, 2011 THE effects of speculation that China would be buying up Italian sovereign debt displayed just how much sway the Chinese government holds over the world currency markets. China has been accumulating foreign currency reserves at a rapid rate – its forex reserves increased by $750bn between June 2010 and June 2011. It is reported that [...]
MBA students go gaga over lessons from pop stars September 14, 2011 LOOK along the business books section in a bookshop and you will find many tomes that promise to teach you how to invest like Warren Buffett or to learn from Bill Gates how a start-up can turn you into a billionaire. But alongside those you will also find another sub-genre of books that promise to [...]
How to teach that bribery doesn’t pay September 14, 2011 CORRUPTION is a bad thing. Widespread bribery can reduce a country’s GDP by up to 1 per cent, according to the World Bank. A trillion dollars is paid in bribes every year. A decade ago, a quarter of Africa’s GDP was paid in bribes. This isn’t just a problem for poor countries. A report by [...]
Uncertainty casts a shadow over uptick September 13, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares rose yesterday, led by banks which bounced back after recent weakness, although traders were dubious about the rally’s solidity due to persistent fears of a Greek debt default and a sharp rise in Italy’s borrowing costs. The UK benchmark index ended up 44.63 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 5,174.25, recovering from [...]
Stocks across the pond advance on Eurozone hope September 13, 2011 US stocks. gained yesterday as investors bought shares beaten down in recent weeks and bet European leaders would take action soon to ease the Greek debt crisis. Worries the Eurozone crisis could tip the global economy into another recession have pummeled stocks, though the selling has reached a level that some argue a Greek default [...]
Integrating reporting could complete the vast jigsaw of business reviews September 13, 2011 HEAD OF ACCA UK THE annual review, the management commentary, the chairman’s review, year-on-year summaries, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, the operating and financial review… we could easily go on. Today’s big businesses produce an eye-watering number of corporate reports at the end of each financial year. The whole package contains hundreds of pages [...]
EU ministers fail to address euro’s flaws September 13, 2011 SUCH is the precariousness of the Eurozone project that every bit of hearsay sends the currency markets scrambling. Yesterday afternoon, the word was that we would see a reappearance of Merkozy – the Euro-Frankenstein merger of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French premier Nicholas Sarkozy that first had life breathed into it at an emergency [...]
COMMODITY DOLLARS MAY SEE PARITY September 13, 2011 FOR most of this year the strength of the commodity dollars has been one of the most consistent trends in the currency market. Both the Australian and the Canadian dollars spent the better part of 2011 trading above parity to the greenback, and as a result New York has been flooded with Australian tourists all [...]