Eurozone annual inflation falls to 0.7pc in February March 17, 2014 Latest Eurozone inflation figures show a fall in the annual rate to 0.7 per cent in February – hitting its lowest ever level again. More than a quarter of the euro area's in deflation, with half the bloc's economies with rates of 0.5 per cent or less. Howard Archer has described the numbers as "uncomfortable and [...]
Bird seeds, flavoured milk and Netflix added to inflation basket March 13, 2014 NETFLIX and flavoured milk have been added to the basket of goods used to calculate consumer price inflation, shedding light on the way that the UK’s spending patterns and habits have evolved. With technological developments, online video streaming has become increasingly popular with the provision of services like Netflix. This has been added to the [...]
Venezuela’s mad socialist experiment is destroying a nation March 11, 2014 IF you want to see how to destroy an economy and a society, look no further than Venezuela. One year after the death of Hugo Chavez, its disastrous communist president, the country is on the verge of total collapse under his equally appalling successor Nicolas Maduro. Food is running out, as are other essentials, even [...]
Venezuela’s mad socialist experiment is destroying a nation March 10, 2014 IF you want to see how to destroy an economy and a society, look no further than Venezuela. One year after the death of Hugo Chavez, its disastrous communist president, the country is on the verge of total collapse under his equally appalling successor Nicolas Maduro. Food is running out, as are other essentials, even [...]
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, [...]
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, [...]
The Federal Reserve has finally released minutes from its 2008 meeting February 21, 2014 The minutes from the 16 September 2008 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee have finally been made public. That meeting took place the day after Lehman Brothers went bust. Then Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke sums up the mood pretty well: Obviously, we started late. We have a lot to talk about. Bernanke didn't [...]
Lower inflation could carry on falling this year February 18, 2014 INFLATION fell below the Bank of England’s target in January, according to figures released yesterday, as the consumer price index grew by only 1.9 per cent in January. Though inflation has not been below two per cent since November 2009, some analysts are now projecting that it will continue to fall through the year. Capital [...]
Grocery sales grow at slowest pace since 2005 February 11, 2014 BRITAIN’S grocery market is growing at its slowest pace since 2005, with only discounters as well as Waitrose and Sainsbury’s defying the downturn and growing market share. Figures out yesterday from Kantar Worldpanel showed that grocery sales rose by 2.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 2 February compared with the same time last [...]
The ECB’s toolkit looks worryingly limited for tackling euro malaise February 6, 2014 THE CLAMOUR for further monetary easing from the European Central Bank (ECB) has become almost deafening. Despite this, the ECB yesterday decided to hold its interest rate at 0.25 per cent. As one journalist at ECB president Mario Draghi’s press conference griped, “Why won’t you simply cut rates!?” There are two fundamental reasons why the [...]