Film Review: Lilting August 8, 2014 ★★★★☆ Mass migration is one of the epic stories of our time, but Lilting finds a smaller tale hidden among the great shifting of cultures. It’s primarily about integration; two parents move from China to the UK with their young son so he can “have a better life”. Thirty years on, the boy, Kai, has [...]
CNBC Comment: Why markets are drowning in uncertainty August 4, 2014 It’s been a hot summer for some, with US stock markets breaking out to fresh highs in July, and European investors debating whether to dip a toe in the water on the back of more European Central Bank (ECB) action. But as thunder clouds roll in, and after Wall Street suffered its worst week since [...]
The Week Ahead: US analysts still bullish August 3, 2014 WALL Street’s worst week in two years was enough to get investors worried about whether a long-overdue correction is coming, but analysts are still leaning bullish going into the new week. The market is undoubtedly ripe for a correction – the current rally has continued for nearly three years without a decline of more than [...]
US economy adds only 209,000 jobs, unemployment rate rises to 6.2pc August 1, 2014 After last month's 288,000-job bonanza, the US economy has only managed to add 209,000 jobs in July. The headline unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.2 per cent after analysts had predicted it would remain on 6.1. It looked difficult for the labour market to top June's high figures, which meant the year to June [...]
Fed intends to keep interest rates low long after tapering ends July 30, 2014 Today's dovish monetary policy statement from the Federal Reserve confirmed expectations that it would look to delay the hiking of interest rates for a long time after tapering ends. It affirmed its commitment to stimulating the economy, saying that it wants to hold short-term interest rates near zero until well into 2015. Also [...]
US economy bounces back as GDP rises by four per cent July 30, 2014 It doesn't come much bigger than this for the land of hope and glory: a bond-buying announcement, an interest rate announcement and GDP for quarter two come all in one day for the US – and that day is today. GDP for the second quarter came in at four per cent, above the three per [...]
Why did the dinosaurs go extinct? Bad timing, scientists say July 28, 2014 It wasn't just the impact of an asteroid thundering down to Earth that wiped dinosaurs off the face of the planet: their extinction was the result of a longer chain of events, according to new research. There are several theories about how the prehistoric creatures met their abrupt end 66 million years ago, [...]
New York Report: GDP data may keep US stock market aloft July 27, 2014 EVEN if data this week shows a mediocre rebound in US economic growth, that might be enough to keep the stock market aloft at record highs and the Federal Reserve steadfast in its winding down of stimulus through bond purchases. US gross domestic product for the second quarter, due to be released on Wednesday, is [...]
Risk savvy: Why simple rules of thumb are best July 22, 2014 A new book lays bare the pitfalls of complex decision-making. Imagine you’re a turkey – one that understands basic probability theory. Each day, a farmer brings you a bucket of corn, and any initial wariness over the human’s presence turns into an expectation that you’re about to be fed. This confidence increases week by week, [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: US markets rebounding July 21, 2014 VOLATILITY spiked last week after the tragedy of a downed civilian jetliner in Ukraine and the mounting death toll in Gaza and Israel interrupted the summer trading slumber. Still, the bears may have to wait a while to call the start of a correction. Uncertainly took over Wall Street Thursday as investors fled stocks, giving [...]