Bank of England minutes reveal risks of further pound gains March 19, 2014 Members of the UK's interest rate setting committee voted unanimously against any policy change in March. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) chose to keep rates at their historic lows of 0.5 per cent, with asset purchases also unchanged. Minutes of the MPC reveal that sterling could strengthen further as the UK's economy [...]
Why an independent Venice should adopt Dogecoin March 18, 2014 On Friday, polls will close as Venetians vote on the issue of independence. Opinion polls suggest that locals are in favour of a future Republic of Veneto, but a successful yes result will not be legally binding. Crucially, if Venice does ever become fully independent, it will have to make a decision on the matter [...]
Bitcoins are more like “glass beads” than money says Danish central bank March 18, 2014 Denmark's central bank has released a publication stating that "unlike precious metals such as gold and silver, Bitcoins have no actual utility value". And on that basis, the organisation says that they aren't really money at all, and instead bear "closer resemblance to glass beads." Of course, the physical value of gold is far removed [...]
Six new versions of puzzle game 2048 that you have to try March 18, 2014 First 2048 took the internet by storm, then came the clones. Developer Gabriele Cirulli tells us that the addictive puzzler now boasts over 4m visitors And as the 19 year old Italian made the game's code open source, coders have been able to make their own spin-offs the game. Cirruli says that the internet has [...]
Could Portugal be the next Germany? March 18, 2014 “Portugal is on track to repeat Germany’s successful conversion from the unsustainable sick man of Europe to a competitive and balanced growth champion.” A note this morning from Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg, says that Portugal is the new Germany. The bank thinks that after a contraction of 3.2 per cent in 2012 and [...]
How a Budget carbon tax freeze would affect SSE and Centrica March 18, 2014 A freeze to the carbon price floor looks increasingly likely in the Budget tomorrow, which would have mixed effects on FTSE 100-listed energy giants SSE and Centrica. There is pressure on the government to freeze – or even cut – this controversial tax on fossil fuel emissions, which some argue is making energy-intensive industries in [...]
Shakeup at the Bank of England could bring a hawkish surprise March 18, 2014 Sweeping changes are on the way at the top of the Bank of England, with the IMF’s Nemat “Minouche” Shafik hired as deputy governor for markets and banking, and MPC member Ben Broadbent promoted the deputy governor for monetary policy. The changes this summer will also lead to Andy Haldane becoming chief economist, and markets [...]
Why did Apple just release a cheaper iPhone 5c? March 18, 2014 Apple added a brand new iPhone to its lineup today, but before you get too excited it’s only a marginally tweaked iPhone 5c with a reduced 8GB of storage (the previous entry model had 16GB). The impact of this change shaves £40 off the 16GB version and brings Apple’s cheapest new iPhone down to £429 [...]
Why investors are right to fear Eurozone deflation March 18, 2014 While soaring inflation tends to grab headlines, the dangers of deflation often get less coverage. Perhaps because the different kinds of deflation – good and bad – are so poorly understood. The good kind, says the Adam Smith Institute's Ben Southwood, comes from productivity improvements. There you see the falls in prices mirrored by increases [...]
Shoppers are getting a sweeter tooth for bags of chocolate March 17, 2014 Scan the confectionery aisles of most British supermarkets and you’ll notice the proliferation of so-called grab bags of chocolate – brands repackaged into what the confectionery industry calls ‘stand up pouches.’ The usual suspects – Mars Mix, Twix Mix, Cadbury’s Bitsa Wispa, Cadbury’s Caramel Nibbles – dominante our supermarket shelves and new research out today [...]
