The cost of living crisis isn’t over – but Ed Miliband still won’t solve it April 21, 2014 PAY GROWTH at 1.7 per cent, inflation at 1.6 per cent on the consumer price index (CPI), real wages increasing. One commentator stated this was the coalition’s “mission accomplished” moment. People are starting to get better off after years of falling real wages, so the argument goes. Surely this is proof that the government’s “long-term [...]
Immigration rules and skills shortages hold back UK tech potential April 21, 2014 THE FIRST few months of 2014 have been a whirlwind for London’s tech sector. Just-East burst onto the stock market with a £1.5bn valuation, DeepMind and Natural Motion were acquired for a combined £720m within three days of each other, Circassia completed a £200m public offering, and we witnessed a resurgent IPO market. Yet while [...]
Letters to the Editor – 22/04 – Bank productivity, Self-employment, Best of Twitter April 21, 2014 Bank productivity [Re: The British productivity disease: How to cure it, Thursday] Dominic Raab is right that falling productivity can be blamed, particularly, on sectors like finance. But can he really claim that this is due to poor competition? Has he missed the new regulations that have pushed up the cost of doing business? Perhaps [...]
CNBC Comment: May could be a stock-picker’s market April 21, 2014 AS WE approach the month of “sell in May and go away”, markets remain range-bound, if not directionless. The sell-off in emerging markets has been halted for now (even though the supposed reason for this, US tapering, is ongoing), and many of these markets recovered substantially during the first quarter. Flows into Europe are continuing [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Why traders should care if the market is risk on or risk off April 21, 2014 WHEN trading, you often hear the expression “risk on/ risk off”. It’s a quick way of explaining whether the market is happy to take more risk by buying high yielding currencies, or to reduce risk exposure by shifting assets to cash and bonds – which usually means buying the US dollar and Japanese yen. In [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Analyst’s pick April 21, 2014 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Stay short euro-Aussie, short euro-dollar Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few weeks Over the past five years, April has been the worst month of the year for the US dollar, and 2014 has proven no different. [...]
Ukraine will only be the start April 21, 2014 Traders set to increasingly feel the pinch from flare-ups in petro-states FOR ANY traders not paying close attention to energy markets, recent events will have come as a rude awakening. Brent crude shot up from just above $104 per barrel in February to over $109 at the end of last week, while energy firms embroiled [...]
Why Europe’s options for diversifying its energy supplies are strictly limited April 21, 2014 CONFLICT in Ukraine has added another major geopolitical risk for energy markets in 2014. Gazprom’s cancellation of gas price discounts in Ukraine at the start of April significantly raises the risk that Russia will use short-term gas supply cuts for political leverage. While a short-term disruption this spring or summer would have muted market impact [...]
Geopolitical risks to support the oil price – despite demand growth drop April 21, 2014 THE BOOST the energy sector received up until early March is unlikely to be repeated as we move into the second quarter. Oil traders will be keeping an eye on several issues. China, the world’s biggest importer of oil, saw a dramatic reduction in February imports, after a record high in January. If this trend [...]
Three steps for a pleasant commute April 21, 2014 Beat the back-to-work blues by grabbing a seat and keeping a lid on your anger LET’S face it – commuting is the worst part of the day. Swedish researchers found that a journey in excess of 45 minutes for just one partner in a marriage made the couple 40 per cent more likely to divorce. [...]
