As Russia and Turkey square up, is Britain underestimating the risks of getting more involved in Syria? November 24, 2015 Dr John C Hulsman, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and president of John C. Hulsman Enterprises, says Yes Easily the two most dangerous words leading to foreign policy catastrophes are “do something”. This amounts to the vague – but powerful – feeling that immediate action is required to right wrongs, however [...]
Nato to hold crisis meeting after Russian SU-24 jet shot down by Turkish F-16 warplanes over Syria: Moment captured on video November 24, 2015 Update: Russian President Vladimir Putin has slammed Turkey for shooting down a Russian jet this morning, saying it was "a stab in the back". A Russian SU-24 jet was shot down by Turkish warplanes near border with Syria this morning. Russia's military has contradicted previous Turkish claims that both of the jet's pilots are alive, [...]
Government bonds, the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen: Safe havens gain after Turkey downs Russia jet November 24, 2015 Investors piled into low-risk assets such as government debt and traditionally safe haven currencies following the downing of a Russian military aircraft by Turkish warplanes earlier today. It's still unclear exactly how significant the incident could be, although Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned it as a "stab in the back", claiming it showed Turkey's support for terrorists. Turkey, a Nato member, claims [...]
UK startups: We need to weaponise Europe’s diversity to ensure its digital future November 24, 2015 Attempts are being made to knit Europe’s rich tapestry of 28 national ecosystems together into a single digital market to create a more robust, borderless breeding ground for the European web giants of the future. If the EU pulls it off, the regulatory and legislative framework that has anchored but at times hindered the continent will be lifted [...]
Best of the Brokers for 24 November 2015 November 24, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com Analysts at Numis have revised their expectations for Close Brothers Group, lowering their earnings per share forecasts for the specialist financial services firm by 5.8 per cent for this year and a similar amount for next year off the back of the firm’s [...]
Santa Clause ain’t coming to town: Why you shouldn’t expect stocks to rally – CNBC Comment November 24, 2015 Last week was the year’s best for the S&P 500. October also saw a very strong bounceback from the late summer malaise. I’ve been surprised by the recent recoveries in markets in the short term. When you pair that with the huge long-term gains we have had since March 2009 alongside my fundamental bearishness, [...]
Brands without borders: OMD’s Nikki Mendonca on the digital single market November 22, 2015 Sharing data across jurisdictions remains a headache for brands that operate within a number of different markets. The situation may be about to become a lot easier in Europe, however, due to the European Commission’s digital single market strategy. “I’m optimistic about what these changes would mean for brands,” says Nikki Mendonça, president of OMD [...]
What’s going to happen to the economy in 2016? From persistently low oil prices to improved global growth, here are Goldman Sachs’ top 10 market themes November 19, 2015 Economists at Goldman Sachs have just released what they believe will be the 10 biggest economic themes of 2016. Here they are: 1. Global growth, more stable than it looks. The Goldman economists believe global growth is bottoming out this year at 3.2 per cent and expect it to accelerate to 3.6 per cent next year. [...]
Fallen hopes: Brazil was a shining star among emerging economies – but Dilma Rousseff and the Petrobras scandal leave it in crisis November 19, 2015 Once the leading light of Latin America, 2015 has seen Brazil gripped by a corruption scandal of epic proportions, while its economy has slid into the worst crisis for a generation. In the midst of a economic quagmire that has drawn the once-thriving Brazilian powerhouse into a deep recession, the country’s politicians are firefighting on another [...]
Twitter back up after going down on website, Android and iPad apps – but not iPhone app for UK, Europe and US-based users November 19, 2015 Update: Twitter has returned after being out of service for around 45 minutes, although some users are still complaining of it being sluggish. Problems started being reported at around 9:48, with users on website, iPad app and Android app all reporting problems. Tweetdeck was also affected. The iPhone app worked throughout – and people used it to complain about the service [...]