Surging exports send UK to top spot in Europe March 18, 2014 THE UK recorded the strongest export growth in the European Union last year, and outstripped every other large economy by a wide margin, according to official figures released yesterday. UK exports surged 11 per cent to €407.9bn (£341.97bn) over the year, while imports dropped eight per cent. In comparison, Germany’s exports stayed flat and France’s [...]
London Report: Shares lifted by Putin’s speech despite tension March 18, 2014 THE UK’S top share index rose yesterday as stock markets rebounded after a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine, which some traders interpreted as being less aggressive in tone than had been expected. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6 per cent, or 36.93 points, at 6,605.28 points – marking only the [...]
Letters to the Editor – 19/03 – Baffling economics, Ukraine crisis, Best of Twitter March 18, 2014 Baffling economics [Re: Economics baffles half the population, Monday] So 48 per cent of UK adults say they understand how the economy works. This seems high, given the management of the economy in the run-up to the Great Recession. Surely, the Treasury and the FSA would have done a better job if even 48 per [...]
Mix it up: Want to loosen up? Forget tequila shots, rum is what you need March 18, 2014 @philip_salter IN TRUTH, most men don’t like dancing. But for reasons largely unknown to bearers of the Y-chromosome, men are expected to prance around like idiots in a vain attempt to attract the opposite sex. Perhaps we are mimicking moribund hunting rituals, but whatever the explanation for this failure of evolution to catch up with [...]
Inequality myth-busting: Why the UK doesn’t have to answer to Sweden March 18, 2014 CONCERN about inequalities of income and wealth is now a fashionable topic, and featured strongly in the gathering of the world’s top brass at Davos earlier this year. Much of the popular coverage of the subject gives the impression that not only is inequality at record highs, but that it is confined to the wicked [...]
UK suspends military cooperation with Russia after Putin signs Crimea treaty March 18, 2014 Foreign secretary William Hague has said Britain has suspended bilateral military cooperation with Russia, including arms exports, in a move responding to Russia’s annexing of Crimea. President Putin has formally signed a treaty to accept the “Republic of Crimea” into the Russian Federation, saying he does not plan to seize any other regions of Ukraine. He [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 18, 2014 US markets are expected to open lower today. European counterparts have headed higher, but investors will be looking towards comment from Fed chair Janet Yellen tomorrow, as the bank puts forward its latest monetary policy decision. It’s expected to continue with its tapering programme. There are also have the latest inflation figures to digest. US [...]
Crimea’s dented investor confidence, but the price of gas suggests there’s no need to worry March 18, 2014 This morning, Germany's ZEW survey demonstrated how investor sentiment can take a knock over international environment worries. The country’s ZEW survey falling for a second month in a row to 46.6 in March, from February’s 55.7. But ZEW officials have said that ongoing problems in Crimea have played a part in the drop, which could [...]
What you need to know before the open March 18, 2014 Markets remained resilient yesterday, in the face of sanctions being meted out by the EU on Russian and Ukrainian individuals. Today, expectations are that they’ll hold their nerve again, opening slightly higher, ahead of President Putin’s decision to the Russian parliament on whether to annex Crimea to Russia. Asian markets rallied in Tuesday trading – [...]
Asian markets rally as investors shrug off sanctions March 18, 2014 Asian markets are rising as tensions in the Crimea cooled and investors failed to be significantly deterred by the limited US and EU sanctions imposed on Russia. The EU and the US imposed asset freezes and visa restrictions for a small number of Russian officials. However, markets will be keeping a close watch on the [...]