How the EU has used the environment as a protectionist weapon January 12, 2014 THE EU has long claimed a reputation as a promoter of free trade – for breaking down boundaries, and allowing capital and goods to flow across borders without hindrance. But protectionism hasn’t disappeared; it’s just taken on a more subtle form. The EU has been using the environment as a trade weapon. Late last year, [...]
The energy helping Big Oil lead the international charge January 10, 2014 With independent oil companies dominating in the US, Big Oil (the biggest five or six global oil companies) is now "leading the international charge", becoming "more and more relevant to mainstream investors", says investment bank JP Morgan. And it's unconventional energy that's helping Big Oil lock down the most material opportunities, set to take up [...]
The dovish consensus is wrong: It is time for interest rate hikes January 9, 2014 ECONOMISTS seem to lurch from one dangerous fad to another. In the late 1980s, most supported the European exchange rate mechanism, which blew up spectacularly; in the 1990s, many supported UK membership of the euro, which would have been a disaster; during the 2000s, few saw the bubble coming and most missed the credit and [...]
Former Kazakh banker set to be extradited January 9, 2014 A FORMER banker accused of embezzling up to $6bn (£3.6bn) from his employer should be extradited to Ukraine or Russia to face fraud charges, a French court ruled yesterday. Mukhtar Ablyazov, who was chairman of Kazakh bank BTA, had been in hiding since being sentenced to prison for contempt of court by an English judge [...]
Letters to the Editor – 10/01 – Pensions, Turkey’s woes, Best of Twitter January 9, 2014 Pensions [Re: Our pension system is broken. We must tear it up and start again, yesterday] Hindsight may be pointless, but if our pensions system had been ringfenced and taken out of the political arena years ago, we could have avoided the taxation devastation (taxing dividends from investment in funds), and perceived unfairness (higher rate [...]
Slight slowdown for emerging markets as new year kicks off January 6, 2014 THE RATE of growth in some of the world’s major developing economies slowed slightly as 2013 came to an end, with services lagging behind. HSBC’s emerging markets index dropped to 51.6 in December, down from 52.1 in November, suggesting weak growth in the developing world. The economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) all posted a [...]
Letters to the Editor – 06/01 – Gold speculation, Payday lending, Best of Twitter January 5, 2014 Gold speculation [Re: Here’s why Capital Economics thinks gold will bounce back this year, Thursday] Buying gold at current prices is speculation, and not just over the potential removal of Indian import restrictions. Its price tells you about fear in an economy at any given point – and there just isn’t that fear around that [...]
Thrills, spills and Brazil: We’re in for vintage 2014 January 5, 2014 Sports editor Frank Dalleres looks forward to a World Cup, Commonwealth Games, Winter Olympics and much more FOOTBALLWorld Cup, 12 June – 13 JulyGold and green, questionable samba references, sweltering temperatures: this year is all about the World Cup in the Beautiful Game’s spiritual home, Brazil. The hosts, Argentina, Germany and Spain are the favourites, [...]
Khodorkovsky released as Putin’s regime loosens grip ahead of Winter Games December 20, 2013 Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, has been released after serving a prison sentence which lasted more than a decade. Official reports say he has already left the remote prison colony near the Arctic Circle, where he was incarcerated. Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to free Khodorkovsky, a former political rival, but many of Putin's [...]
Khodorkovsky’s pardon causes market gains December 19, 2013 RUSSIAN stock markets gained yesterday after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to pardon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, after he spent more than ten years behind bars. The move was seen as a boost for investors increasingly worried about political freedoms and Russia’s ability to reform the economy. Russian stocks have underperformed emerging market [...]