Apple helps to send Wall St to new highs – New York Report May 18, 2015 T HE DOW Jones industrial average and S&P 500 ended at record highs yesterday, helped by a rally in Apple as well as tepid economic data suggesting the Federal Reserve may wait to raise interest rates. The S&P 500 racked up its third straight all-time high close, gaining 6.47 points, or 0.3 per cent, to end [...]
Healthcare needs radical reform – but Cameron must brace for the backlash May 18, 2015 The new government’s policy on public services was launched yesterday by the Prime Minister, with an uncompromising statement of NHS reform. He pledged more competition, including in the private sector. He promised wholesale changes in the delivery of services, so that GPs, hospitals and other services work together and prevent ill health in the first [...]
Why David Cameron’s legacy hangs on tackling four huge economic challenges May 18, 2015 I once asked one of Margaret Thatcher’s senior advisers whether her governments had been “too obsessed with economics”. “Economics,” he replied, “is not the most important thing in life, or in public policy. But it is something that governments can really mess up”. Recent events have made me reflect on that sentiment. When David Cameron [...]
Why now is the time for energy policy to champion consumers May 18, 2015 The election of a Conservative government has led to a big change in personnel at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) – one of the few Liberal Democrat run departments in the previous Parliament. Now, this fresh team has an opportunity to get a grip on the many challenges facing the UK’s energy [...]
As Shia militias battle for Ramadi, is current UK military intervention against IS sufficient? May 18, 2015 Simon Mabon is a lecturer in international relations at Lancaster University and a research associate at The Foreign Policy Centre, says Yes Since last summer, RAF fighters have participated in an international coalition created to defeat Islamic State (IS), dropping some 200 bombs. After the gains made by IS in recent days, the US-led coalition [...]
Deflation, no demand: Global economies struggling to up inflation and stagnation is on the rise May 18, 2015 We are now well into the second phase of post-financial crisis recovery. The first, terrifying phase was the period when central banks had to cut interest rates to zero and then develop and deploy new, unconventional weapons, including QE. The European Central Bank (ECB) had to be more imaginative than others, as it tried [...]
Equities dream: Will we wake in a cold sweat? – CNBC Comment May 18, 2015 THE CURRENT state of equity markets is taking me back to a song from my youth: “dreamer, you’re nothing but a dreamer. Well can you put your hands in your head? Oh no.” Apologies to Supertramp, but there have been times recently when these markets, and the desperation to put on the blinkers and ignore [...]
Overtrading: Why it may be vital to take a step back – DailyFX Tips & Picks May 18, 2015 WHEN trading the markets, you might think you only have two options: buying or short-selling. But there is a third option – not to trade. It’s an interesting concept, as many people believe that you need to be in the market all the time to make money. Yet this is far from the truth – [...]
Car review: Ford’s Mondeo Vignale attempts to appeal to today’s upwardly mobile classes May 18, 2015 The “Mondeo Man” who Tony Blair famously courted during the 1997 General Election could be found on suburban driveways, polishing his car and wondering whether he should vote Conservative now he was moving up in the world. If Ed Miliband had targeted a similar demographic ahead of this year’s election, perhaps he might have [...]
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