These six charts caught our attention in July August 2, 2017 Safe as houses In the UK, house price growth began to slow noticeably last year when stamp duty on buy-to-let and second homes increased. The slowdown continued after the announcement that the UK would be leaving the EU. Perhaps surprisingly, London has been hit harder than the rest of the UK. UK growth is sluggish [...]
Gold prices climb past $1,255 on a weak US dollar and political uncertainty in America July 21, 2017 Gold prices are climbing past $1,255 for the first time in weeks on the back of a weaker US dollar. The yellow metal was trading 0.3 per cent higher at $1,255.80 per ounce after it finally broke through the $1,250 barrier yesterday. “After the strong decline seen in the final days of June, when the [...]
How geopolitics trumps economics July 7, 2017 Earlier this week I attended the "Athens Seminar", an economic and political round table discussion that has been hosted annually since 1979. I thought it would be of interest to share some of the main takeaways, as they help understand the current environment. Since the global financial crisis, economic and financial issues have dominated this [...]
It takes a village: How Simon Rogan transformed a Cumbrian town into an international culinary destination July 6, 2017 The village of Cartmel lies just beyond the boundaries of the Lake District. It’s quietly beautiful, with squat stone buildings, rows of shops selling postcards and tourist knick-knacks, and a 12th century priory that dominates the town square. You can find lazy, bucolic idylls like this dotted across this part of the world; it’s the [...]
Spider-Man: Homecoming review: Not the character-defining movie we’re waiting for July 6, 2017 The latest Marvel blockbuster is strewn with in-jokes, each one a little gift to fans for continuing to buy tickets for a franchise that now spans 16 movies. Take the title: “Homecoming” does refer to an event in the film – which lasts all of five minutes – but every Marvel geek knows it’s really [...]
The Fed may not have investors’ backs for much longer July 4, 2017 For decades, the Federal Reserve has been the wingman to the US equity market, manipulating monetary policy to prevent the stockmarket from tipping into chaos. It was during the financial crisis of 1987 that the US central bank first came to the rescue by pumping liquidity into the financial system. Ever since, the Fed has [...]
Federal Reserve gives largest US banks the green light to splash the cash in the second round of stress tests June 28, 2017 Major US banks have performed well in the second round of annual stress tests, as the Federal Reserve (Fed) tonight approved plans for the country’s largest institutions to distribute cash to shareholders. The stress tests, brought in after the financial crash, are designed to ensure that banks could cope in a crisis. The Fed’s approval [...]
Don’t underestimate the risks of interest rate hikes to the global economy June 27, 2017 In recent months sentiment towards financial markets has been broadly positive in Western economies. But, as the recent UK political situation has demonstrated, sentiment can quickly change. Such swings also happen in financial markets. Here I highlight some of the key current macro-economic issues to watch for. Global recovery gaining traction The world economy is [...]
Why the robot apocalypse won’t come tomorrow June 16, 2017 Read any media article on artificial intelligence or ‘AI’ these days and you are likely to come away with the impression it won’t be so very long before your life is being run by the Matrix and your boss is a marginally more benign version of the Terminator. Apparently, however, there are still a couple [...]
Improve user acquisition via your app June 8, 2017 If you wish to achieve the best possible results for user acquisition, you should first identify your target audience. Work out who is going to benefit most from your app, and learn what will appeal to them. Having done this research, you can now focus your efforts in the smartest way. Talk to those most [...]