How socialism has destroyed Venezuela February 25, 2014 MILTON Friedman once said that, if you put the government in charge of the Sahara desert, there’ll eventually be a shortage of sand. No wonder that, after 14 years of socialist government, Venezuela – the country with the world’s largest oil reserves – is currently importing gasoline. This fact highlights Venezuela’s painful descent into chaos, [...]
Top fund picks to spice up your Isa portfolio February 25, 2014 WITH the end of the tax year fast approaching (on 5 April), there is still time to invest up to £11,520 in a stocks and shares Isa. For higher or additional rate taxpayers, sheltering your money in the tax-free wrapper means avoiding income tax at 40 or 45 per cent on any interest. But while [...]
How socialism has destroyed Venezuela February 25, 2014 MILTON Friedman once said that, if you put the government in charge of the Sahara desert, there’ll eventually be a shortage of sand. No wonder that, after 14 years of socialist government, Venezuela – the country with the world’s largest oil reserves – is currently importing gasoline. This fact highlights Venezuela’s painful descent into chaos, [...]
Markets hit fresh highs February 24, 2014 BOOMING stocks hit fresh highs on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday as upbeat investors kept on pumping cash into equities, fuelled by economic recovery and low interest rates. The surge in stocks follows a flood of merger and takeover activity, with Facebook’s $19bn (£11.4bn) buyout of messaging service Whatsapp last week setting the tone [...]
New York Report: US stocks rise with indexes near to records February 24, 2014 US STOCKS rose yesterday and the S&P 500 hit a record intraday high, helped by gains in health insurers’ shares and optimism about merger activity. The Nasdaq reached a 14-year high, though all three indexes closed off their highs for the day, with the S&P 500 finishing less than a point away from its record [...]
What you need to know before the US open February 24, 2014 With the week set to get progressively busier, a quieter monday will no doubt see investors look towards the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine. Ousted President Viktor Yanukovich is now wanted for the mass murder of protestors. And Ukraine has said it needs $35bn in foreign aid over the next two years in order to keep [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 24 February 2014 February 23, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Deutsche Bank plans to cut US assets Deutsche Bank has for the first time laid out its plans to slash its US balance sheet as it seeks to allay concerns over how it would deal with tough new rules imposed by the Federal Reserve on foreign banks. The lender aims to reduce assets [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: Fed chair Yellen in spotlight for banking speech February 23, 2014 AFTER the S&P 500 slipped on Friday and broke a two-week rally, stocks may find tougher sledding this week as investors may be unwilling to push the benchmark index to a record high. The Standard & Poor’s 500 has risen three per cent over the past three weeks, as investors have largely been willing to [...]
Giant panda numbers are up: see them in Chengdu February 23, 2014 They famously eat shoots and leaves. LISA YOUNG gets up-close and personal with the Chinese city’s most famous residents IT’S a warm August morning, the time of year when the sizzling Chengdu summer gives way to cooler climes. Chengdu sits in a fog-filled bowl 500 metres above sea level in the Sichuan Province of south [...]
Here’s what the Fed thought of too big to fail at the height of 2008 panic February 21, 2014 During the height of the financial panic of 2008 members of the board of the Federal Reserve were voicing their concerns about the health of some of the world's largest financial institutions. Board member Thomas Hoenig brought the issue of too big to fail front and centre: Mr. Chairman, I have thought about this considerably [...]