US markets begin the year on a high January 3, 2012 STOCKS and the euro started the year with a sharp rally yesterday, boosted by better-than-expected global data and hopes the Fed could ease monetary policy further, even as crude surged on tensions between the US and Iran. A number of Federal Reserve officials believed economic conditions could “well” warrant a further easing of monetary policy, [...]
Manufacturing data sparks FTSE’s racing start to 2012 January 3, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares powered ahead at the start of the new trading year yesterday as upbeat economic data from the United States, Europe and China boosted risk appetite and helped investors set aside fears over the Eurozone debt crisis. The pace of growth in the US manufacturing sector accelerated in December, its best month since [...]
2012 will mimic 2011 in Aussie dollar volatility January 3, 2012 MARKETS across the globe are suddenly hinting at the promise of economic renewal. Apart from the earth successfully travelling once more around the sun, to the delight of the planet’s Homo sapiens, has anything really changed from jittery 2011? For a short time at least, confidence is high. “Traders and investors seem prepared to take [...]
GEOPOLITICAL THREATS TO 2012 TRADING January 3, 2012 AS THE currency markets opened for trading at the start of the new year, investors remained in a party mood, bidding up the Australian dollar, after PMI readings from the region printed better than expected. China’s official PMI Manufacturing report crossed back above the 50 boom/bust level, allaying concerns that the Asian giant was heading [...]
THE TIPSTER January 3, 2012 THE last few weeks have been uncharacteristically quiet on the European crisis front – but pessimists may just view this as the calm before the next inevitable storm. The optimistic view could be that surely all of the bad news is getting close to being priced in for the euro and its death has been [...]
Politicians have been thumb twiddling over care reforms for 15 years. It’s time to act January 3, 2012 AN OPEN letter to the Prime Minister argued for reform of social care funding yesterday. But we have been here before. Fifteen years ago the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) published the results of their Inquiry into the Costs of Continuing Care. The 1997 Labour government made reforming the funding of care a priority. A Royal [...]
Why dot London is a capital plan for a digital age January 3, 2012 ICANN, the governing body for internet web addresses, last year gave the green light to the most significant shake-up to the domain name structure in 25 years. The decision to widen the current system of internet domain names means that from 12 January until 12 April this year, organisations can apply for the domain name [...]
Fewer voters would be a boost for democracy January 3, 2012 A FEW days before Christmas, a by-election chose a new MP for Feltham and Heston. Voter turnout was only 29 per cent. This prompted familiar laments about public disengagement from politics. Yet the problem with British democracy is not that too few people vote but that too many do. To see why, consider a question [...]
RAPID RESPONSES January 3, 2012 Cogs and couches Interesting article from Dennis Hayes [2012 should be the year we get off the couch and make companies more productive, yesterday]. I would be intrigued to know how the likes of Google, Facebook and Amazon view the point he makes. I suspect that employee well-being is core to their respective strategies. Where [...]
Tiguan shows 4x4s can be city cars January 3, 2012 It’s taken me years to come around to the 4×4. I wouldn’t say I was anti-SUV – it’s just that I’ve never understood the attraction. For a life in the countryside, fine, go right ahead, it makes a lot of sense. Off-road, in a Landie, I’m having as much fun as the next guy. I [...]
