A rare moment of Brexit brightness from the Great Remainer January 23, 2018 The man who first coined the term BRICs – the economics sage Jim O’Neill – has just passed a surprisingly upbeat judgment on the economic impact of Brexit. Lord O’Neill, the former head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, was a leading voice in the 2016 Remain campaign. The man who first identified Brazil, Russia, India [...]
As the global elite meets in Davos, it’s trebles all round for investors January 23, 2018 A WHO’S who of the world’s elite are in attendance at this year’s annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos. At the Hotel Belvedere, an epicentre for billionaires, superstar chief executives, and heads of state (Donald Trump, the first sitting US President to attend, can arguably claim to be all three), [...]
Oil prices rise as Saudi Arabia sees Opec “cooperation” continuing beyond 2018 January 22, 2018 Saudi Arabia has said cooperation between the cartel and its partners that are working to curb production will continue beyond 2018. Saudi Arabia is the de facto leader of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), which in November agreed to extend oil production cuts with Russia and other non-Opec producers until the end [...]
Editor’s Notes: Theresa May can benefit from taking on Corbyn’s anti-business agenda, Trump’s thumbs up to data and the ONS’ telecoms glitch January 19, 2018 Theresa May has never been an enthusiastic defender of free-market capitalism, much to the frustration of many in business. However, to give credit where it’s due, the PM pushed back quite hard against Jeremy Corbyn’s latest assault on private business, which was sparked by the collapse of Carillion. After the Labour leader stumbled his way [...]
US poised to overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as top oil producer in 2018 amid “rapid” growth in output January 19, 2018 US oil production is set to grow faster than previously expected amid a “volatile” year in 2018, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said today as it revised its figures. The Paris-based agency raised its forecast for 2018 crude oil growth in the US from 870,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.1m bpd and said the [...]
Opec is predicting the US shale boom will ramp up in 2018 January 18, 2018 The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has increased its forecast for oil supply from countries outside the cartel in 2018, stoking fears the US will take advantage of higher prices to ramp up shale production and send prices back down from 2014 highs. Opec said non-member countries would increase supply by 1.15m barrels [...]
Tech predictions for 2018: Drones, crypto, and the rise of the robots January 15, 2018 The pace of technological change can seem exciting and daunting in equal measure. 2017, while seeing continued financial growth in the tech sector, brought even more sharply into focus the challenges inherent with the inexorable march of progress. From Amazon to Uber, tech giants saw their practices and business models scrutinised more deeply than ever [...]
Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and…Jesse Lingard? Why Manchester United man is up there with the best this season January 14, 2018 A good demonstration of how transformative Jesse Lingard’s recent performances for Manchester United have been is provided by rewinding barely two months to when he made his 100th appearance for the club in late November. For a homegrown player who had been capped by England and scored the winning goal in an FA Cup final, [...]
Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices set to rack up fourth week of gains despite fall from $70 January 12, 2018 The price of Brent crude oil has fallen from yesterday’s 2014 high of $70 a barrel, but it is still on track to mark its fourth straight week of gains. At the time of writing, Brent was down 0.59 per cent to $68.85 a barrel while the US benchmark was down 0.94 per cent at [...]
The EU is set to suffer in the Czech Republic election January 12, 2018 This year could be a tough test for the European Union (EU). Not only does it have Brexit looming over the horizon and a stubborn unemployment, but it also faces yet more potentially destabilising elections. Much has been written on the Italian parliamentary vote in March for its potential consequences for the Euro, but the [...]