Mining shares are crashing on this Australian update December 11, 2013 An update from Australia's third biggest copper producer, Oz Minerals, has investors panicked. Last night the company announced a disappointing results, alongisde a poor outlook for its flagship mine, Prominent Hill (pictured). Societe Generale's Sebastien Galy says that this indicates over capacity, and that "such over capacity exists also on the transformation side also in [...]
Stagecoach is uniquely successful in the US. Here’s why December 11, 2013 US markets are often seen as the place British businesses go to die. That makes Stagecoach's transatlantic success something of a surprise. The FTSE 250 listed company operates around 2,600 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada, linking roughly 100 locations, as well as offering commuter and school bus services. And while Stagecoach [...]
Central bankers do battle on avoiding bust: Carney vs Draghi December 10, 2013 Two speeches in two days have set out the stark differences in opinion between two of the most important men in economics. Bank of England governor Mark Carney and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi are both ex-Goldman Sachs employees, but that hasn't led to them sharing views on best practice as central bankers. While [...]
One chart that shows how the UK’s growth is starting to take off December 10, 2013 The UK's economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the three months ending November, according to estimates by think tank Niesr. That's an acceleration from an estimated 0.7 per cent growth in the three months ending October 2013. So finally, but very gradually, the UK's economic growth is looking robust in magnitude – [...]
Same-sex weddings coming to England and Wales next March December 10, 2013 Equalities minister Maria Miller has announced that the first same-sex weddings can take place in England and Wales from 29 March next year. Fifteen other countries already recognise the marriages of same-sex couples: The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, France, Brazil, Uruguay, and New Zealand.
This one chart shows the mess Europe is in December 10, 2013 These industrial output and production numbers, while measured slightly differently, give you a good indication of the huge disparity between European Union economies. While the UK has seen the biggest annual increase in industrial production since January 2011 (that's in the year to October), in the Eurozone things are looking decidedly less buoyant. Greece [...]
Barclays make non-US stocks their top pick for 2014. Here’s why December 10, 2013 Barclays say that the big story of 2013 was the re-pricing of equities versus bonds, as equities soared against a background of plunging bond values. Now a mixed global outlook for 2014 gives opportunities to seize advantage of cheap European and emerging market equities, according to Barclay's head of equity research, Stu Linde. Marco Outlook [...]
Carney hopes that you’ll ignore the economic doomsayers this Christmas. Here’s why December 9, 2013 Mark Carney has hit out at those claiming that humanity has reached its limits – the proponents of "secular stagnation". They would have you believe that we'll be stuck with lower increases in living standards than the ones we've witnessed in the Great Moderation, the post-war boom, or the second industrial revolution of 1870-1913. Speaking [...]
Highest number of electricity supplier switches since 2010 December 9, 2013 614,000 customers switched their electricity supplier last month, according to figures from Energy UK. That's more than twice the number that switched in October, and the highest number of switches since 2010. Last month saw five of the big six suppliers announce that bills would be rising. 125,000, or over 20 per cent, of those [...]
The Greek government has made a bold growth prediction – this chart shows why it’s a joke December 9, 2013 After passing a budget in the early hours of Sunday morning, one of the Greek government's forecasts is already looking ropey (at best). The budget estimated 0.6 per cent growth in 2014 – but inflation data released today shows that Greek deflation is at a new record. HICP inflation has dropped by a [...]
