Dow heads to highs ahead of key speech February 12, 2013 US STOCKS closed modestly higher yesterday, putting the Dow within striking distance of an all-time high, as investors looked ahead to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. Investors will be listening to Obama’s speech for any clues on a deal with Republicans to avert automatic spending cuts due to take effect on 1 [...]
Tighter regulations won’t restore the City’s reputation for integrity February 12, 2013 FINANCIAL regulation is often defended on the grounds that financial products are complex and consumers do not understand them properly. But that is nothing special in itself. I know little about car repair. When I take my car to the garage, the mechanics start talking Esperanto to me about their plans, followed by “OK?” We [...]
Europe needs to be more relaxed about entrepreneurs getting filthy rich February 12, 2013 PETER Mandelson famously said that he was “intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich”. As with many aspects of New Labour, he was working firmly in the Leninist intellectual tradition. Some 20 years earlier, the then leader of the Chinese Communist Party Deng Xiaoping stated that “to get rich is glorious”. The Chinese have certainly [...]
Press freedom has been relegated to history’s scrapheap February 12, 2013 IN THE past, Britain was frequently ripped apart by the question: “Should the press be free or regulated?” Writers squared up to censorious Kings and demanded, in the words of seventeenth century poet John Milton, “the liberty to utter”. In return, Kings threw disobedient hacks in the Tower. In 1792, Thomas Paine was sentenced to [...]
The Debate: Will North Korea’s third nuclear test lead to increased instability in the Asia-Pacific? February 12, 2013 YES Andrea Berger Following North Korea’s third nuclear test, South Korea, Japan, and China will be compelled to match their verbal condemnations with action. Several responses could further provoke Pyongyang, causing it to lash out again, and destabilise the region. Should Beijing decide to punish North Korea over its latest provocation – by supporting an [...]
Letters to the Editor February 12, 2013 EU food testing [Re: Horse row no laughing matter – but NHS scandal even worse, yesterday] On the subject of Britain’s food chain, this article completely misses the point – along with most of the media. Food testing is an EU competence as part of the Single Market. All the faults, therefore, lie with the [...]
How to gain emerging market exposure February 12, 2013 IT IS a well-known story. Emerging markets are playing a more significant role in global economic growth. Recent research from PwC has highlighted that emerging market GDP will exceed that of developed markets, in terms of purchasing power parity (which adjusts for differences in exchange rates), for the first time in 2013. Since 2002, the [...]
Gold’s surprising stability deserves some closer attention February 12, 2013 AFTER reaching a peak of $1,922 per troy ounce in September 2011, gold has struggled to break new ground, with every rally since then failing to match the previous. Indeed, after the price performances of 2003 to 2011, the last 18 months have been constrained. And for quite a few reasons this is surprising. One [...]
The future looks cloudy for this Sauvignon Blanc February 12, 2013 bottle.opener@cityam.com Once the wine of choice, Cloudy Bay now has some real competition Whatever HAPPENED to Cloudy Bay? A few years ago the release of the new Cloudy Bay Sauvignon vintage was greeted with excitement amongst wine lovers. After all, this was a wine to celebrate – a taut yet ripe Sauvignon Blanc with real [...]
A cynic’s solution to not loving Valentine’s day February 12, 2013 City A.M.’s cocktail expert Call ME a cynic, but there is only one thing worse than being single on Valentine’s Day and that is being forced to sit with your significant other in a bar or restaurant, spending hand over fist in a vain attempt to quantify your affections. And every year the expectations for [...]
