Don’t hold your breath for an easy fix to the US-China trade spat February 13, 2019 Towards the end of last year, my investment manager sent out a note predicting that the US-China trade spat would be resolved and that markets would rise as a result. I responded by saying that it was unlikely to happen, and that I personally preferred an investment portfolio that was very underweight in companies whose [...]
DEBATE: Should Theresa May push for a compromise with Labour to get her Brexit deal passed? February 13, 2019 Should Theresa May push for a compromise with Labour to get her Brexit deal passed? Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of London First, says YES. Theresa May’s primary goal must be to avoid leaving the EU with no deal. That means that the government must stop behaving as if it has a rock-solid parliamentary majority, and [...]
Looking out for the next financial crisis? Keep an eye on spiralling debt February 13, 2019 Concerns are growing that another financial crisis is imminent. No less important a figure than Kenneth Rogoff wrote last week that “the next major financial crisis may come sooner than you think”. Rogoff, a former chief economist at the IMF, shot to fame with his 2008 book This Time Is Different, co-authored with his Harvard [...]
The mood music is encouraging at HMV after it is saved by Sunrise February 12, 2019 Following in the footsteps of other beloved, well-known high street brands, HMV entered administration in 2018 ending decades of dominance over the UK music market. However, HMV was rescued from being consigned to history after being sold to Canadian retailer Sunrise Records last week (at least for now – HMV also went bust in 2013). [...]
Trevor Steven: Goalscoring genius Sergio Aguero is my leading striker of the Premier League era February 12, 2019 Ian Rush got it right this week when he said that we have Sergio Aguero to thank for reminding us what it means to be an old-fashioned centre-forward. Rarely do you see Aguero on the flanks or even outside of the width of the penalty area. He is too focused on scoring goals; that is [...]
You couldn’t make it up! The rise of the ‘robo-writer’ February 12, 2019 A recent news story about political donations to Australia’s political parties isn’t normally something to grab my attention, but this brief article in the Guardian did – thanks to its byline. The reporter was a robot called “Reporter Mate”. The robot ‒ or experimental automated news reporting system, as Guardian Australia calls it ‒ is [...]
Hong Kong Horse Racing Tips: Jockey Purton bidding to soar to victory on Happy Dragon February 12, 2019 IF YOU asked the majority of formbook students who the unluckiest horse in Hong Kong is, most would plump for the John Moore-trained Happy Warrior. In his last three races he has cost punters a fortune. He has either been impeded, caught racing wide with no cover, or blocked when delivering a challenge. The likes [...]
Hong Kong Horse Racing Tips: De Sousa to get fine tune out of Music Addition February 12, 2019 RACING returns to Happy Valley this afternoon following a two-week break at the inner city track. A lot has happened in racing over the last fortnight. More than 100,000 boisterous racing fans bounded through the turnstiles for the Chinese New Year meeting at Sha Tin last week, betting an astronomical £170 million across the card. [...]
Breaking down barriers: Politics and business are crying out for ambitious women’s brilliant ideas February 12, 2019 Politics used to be a man’s game: in the early 20th century, parliament was a club to which women were not invited. Laws were made by men, for men. Gladly, things have changed beyond recognition. We now have our second female Prime Minister, while 2017 saw a record number of female MPs elected. Read more: [...]
Dads, parenting, and the gender pay gap – equality at home will lead to fixing inequality in the workplace February 12, 2019 We have all seen the uproar caused by gender pay gaps. Transparency has helped bring about change, but discrepancies in pay will never be eliminated and workplace inequality will never end if employers don’t support equality at home. And while women must continue to be supported at work, men are the other half of the [...]