Fed comments soothe jitters on Wall Street February 26, 2013 NEW YORK REPORT US stocks rebounded from their worst decline since November yesterday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed’s bond-buying stimulus and sales of new homes hit a four and a half year high. The S&P 500 had climbed six per cent for the year and came within reach of all-time highs [...]
Nightmare for Brussels as Italians vote to reject austerity consensus February 26, 2013 AS FAR as nightmare results go, if you sit in Brussels, Berlin or Frankfurt, the Italian elections could not have delivered a worse outcome. A fresh dose of uncertainty has been injected into the Eurozone. Although Pier Luigi Bersani, the centre-left coalition leader, won by a slim margin in the lower house, none of the [...]
Why even Keynes would be concerned about the risks of further stimulus February 26, 2013 AGAINST THE GRAIN THE loss of the AAA credit rating on UK government bonds has intensified the demands for a Plan B. So-called Keynesians are demanding an increase in both public spending and the public sector deficit. But what might the late great economist John Maynard Keynes himself have said about the current situation? Lacking [...]
The West has failed to adapt to China’s huge savings glut February 26, 2013 AS RECENTLY as 1990, the Chinese saved $153bn (£101bn) a year and accounted for less than 1 per cent of global savings. This year, they will save $4.5 trillion and account for 25 per cent. Over the last eight years, China has leapt from holding a tenth of the world’s savings to a quarter. My [...]
Letters to the Editor February 26, 2013 Italy votes [Re: Study Italy’s election: It is the shape of things to come in the UK, yesterday] A very good column. Economic failure will always be accompanied by political upheaval. I don’t think Italy’s result is worrying, however. Democracy is never worrying, except to those to whom it poses a threat. And at least the [...]
How an Isa could earn you a million February 26, 2013 The route to tax-free prosperity is simple AS THE end of another tax year approaches, there is still time for investors to shelter up to £11,280 from taxation. But with most experts predicting cash Isas will undershoot inflation, it is surprising that, although close to half of the UK’s adult population holds an Isa, very [...]
High-yield debt is higher risk but can offer rewards February 26, 2013 Junk bonds may still be an attractive option for income investors INCOME investors have been hard hit by the financial crisis. The response of policymakers – injecting cheap money into the economy through monetary easing – has squashed yields to record lows. Now “safe” assets – like gilts or cash – return negative real yields. [...]
Italian results offer few reasons for market optimism February 26, 2013 CAPITAL COMMENT LAST week, my column considered what the Italian elections might mean for the financial markets. I noted that there was a broad feeling that we were only witnessing the quiet before the storm. And by the way the markets have reacted since, it’s clear that few were prepared for the actual outcome. We [...]
Review: Apero at the Ampersand February 26, 2013 Apero has fish is to die for, if you don’t mind the charmingly chaotic atmosphere, says Steve Dinneen APERO @ AMPERSAND; 10 Harrington Road, SW7 3ER; tel: 020 7589 5895 FOOD **** SERVICE *** Value **** Cost per person with wine: £50 A few years ago I was wandering through Kreuzberg, before it was completely [...]
How a former hedgie manager is challenging the Bordeaux status quo February 26, 2013 THE BOTTLE OPENER I’m delighted to say I spent last Monday evening drinking fine Claret with a revolutionary. Not that Arnaud Christiaens, a polished Belgian former hedge fund manager, is your usual rebel. But with his new venture Le Secret des Grands Chefs, he is setting out to turn the accepted order of things in [...]
