Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft to join China’s £8bn gaming market January 7, 2014 CHINA has ended its 14-year ban on foreign-made games consoles which has blocked Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo from selling devices to the country’s 1.3bn citizens. While PlayStations and Xboxes have long been available in China illegally, PC gaming is the only legitimate form of gaming and has flourished due to the popularity of online gaming [...]
Brand Index: Britain must up its game to get a reputation made in China January 7, 2014 ON AN official trade mission to China last October, George Osborne declared that he was staggered by the progress and can-do attitude of the Chinese, and warned that Britain needs to “up our game” if we’re to compete. New research from YouGov in China shows this to be true, with perceptions of British-made products and [...]
Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft to re-enter China’s £8.4bn gaming market January 7, 2014 China has ended its 14 year ban on foreign-made games consoles which has blocked Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo from selling devices to the country’s 1.3bn citizens. While PlayStations and Xboxes have long been available in China illegally, PC gaming is the only legitimate form of gaming and has flourished due to the popularity of online [...]
CNBC Comment: Global markets in 2014: What to expect January 6, 2014 IT’S A new year, and I received the most important present just before Christmas. In 2014, I will never again have to ask whether the US Federal Reserve will start tapering its asset purchase programme. The relief of that single fact cannot be overestimated, and I would like to personally thank Ben Bernanke and the rest [...]
2014: The return of the gold bulls January 6, 2014 Gold analysts are at their most bullish for over a year, according to Bloomberg News. Of the 21 analysts surveyed, 15 expected gold to rise this week, two were bearish and four were neutral. This represents the highest number of bulls seen in the survey since December 2012. The survey follows a Capital Economics note [...]
What you need to know before the open – 06/01 January 6, 2014 European bourses are set to open lower this morning as investors await service PMI results. They follow Asian markets, which were led lower by PMI data that indicated a sharp slowing in Chinese services growth in December. Lack- lustre opening expected in Europe in response to downbeat mood in Asia – FTSE -6, DAX [...]
The year in preview: Our in-depth guide January 5, 2014 City A.M.’s journalists take a wide-ranging look at what 2014 has in store for the world of finance and business BANKINGRestoring faith means costly overhaulsA CAUTIOUS optimism pervades the British and European banking system at the start of 2014. The incoming economic recovery is at last improving customers’ creditworthiness, while the hard work running down [...]
Global Politics: India and Mexico will rise as Europe dies but the US will reinvent itself once again January 5, 2014 I HAVE long strongly advocated a modest proposal for my clients regarding global political risk: judge analysts as you would a plumber. If we do a good job, rehire us. If not, show us the door. For only by assessing real world outcomes can clients separate snake oil salesmen from the real thing. As I [...]
Investment Trends: A year for stock-pickers: 2014 investment winners and losers January 5, 2014 AFTER a surprisingly strong 2013 in many equity markets, I am cautiously optimistic for 2014. One of the key reasons for my slight wariness is that most of the predictions I am reading at the moment are unambiguously positive. There is an unusual consensus around a generally bullish outlook for stock markets, in particular those [...]
Arts and lifestyle highlights for the next twelve months January 5, 2014 From Glastonbury to Shakespeare to Matisse, you won’t be short of things to do in 2014 MUSICArcade Fire confirmed as headliners for Glastonbury 2014The Glastonbury 2014 lineup is being kept under-wraps until summer, but that hasn’t stopped rumours surfacing thanks to loose-tongued artists and hints dropped by organiser Emily Eavis. Arcade Fire instigated a flurry [...]