Frugal innovation: Doing more with less – the six principles to adopt to innovate faster and cheaper November 20, 2015 Stagnant incomes and greater concern for the environment are making western consumers both more value and values conscious. Equally, ordinary people in the West are increasingly empowered to do with limited resources what only large firms could do in the past. Ubiquitous tools, such as smartphones, cloud computing, 3D printers, crowdfunding, and social media, [...]
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. [...]
Seeking income: Three contrarian ideas for hunters, from Cyprus government bonds to energy companies November 19, 2015 Times have been tough for investors seeking regular income payments. Nearly all bond sectors have made losses for investors this year. Meanwhile, some of the companies which could once be relied upon for good dividend payments from their shares – such as Tesco and Glencore – have cut or scrapped them entirely. But specialist fund [...]
Private sector workers are optimistic about the next 12 months but public sector employees think they will be worse off November 18, 2015 Brits’ optimism on their finances has risen this month with a strong outlook for private sector workers lifting overall confidence while those in the public sector were more downbeat, according to new survey figures released today. Markit's index for financial wellbeing over the next 12 months increased this month, rising to a score of 50.4 from 49.1 and [...]
US inflation rises to 0.2 per cent in October as energy prices halt their decline as core inflation stays at 1.9 per cent November 17, 2015 Annual inflation in the US climbed to 0.2 per cent in October from zero per cent in September as energy prices rebounded and medical costs climbed. Compared with September, the consumer price index – the basket of goods and services used to measure inflation – climbed 0.2 per cent, lifting the annual figure. Energy prices [...]
Japan recession: Has Abenomics failed? not quite November 17, 2015 The latest data from Japan revealed that the world’s third largest economy slipped back into recession in the past quarter, at least technically. Has Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “three arrows” plan to revive the Japanese economy – Abenomics – failed in spectacular fashion? Well, yes and no. MIXED PICTURE Let’s start with the economy. [...]
Melting Arctic is like the “new Africa” for precious resources November 12, 2015 The Arctic's ice is rapidly melting away, leaving behind sea passages that offer much easier access to the resource-rich area than ever before. The result, according to Iceland's President Olafur Grimsso, is an Arctic that is like the “new Africa”. Rare metals, minerals, oil and gas are among the many resources being eyed up by governments [...]
IEA: Oil prices won’t breach $100 mark until 2040 November 10, 2015 Due to the supply glut it will be another 25 years before oil prices break through the crucial $100 mark, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). And the black stuff is unlikely to hit $80 a barrel before the end of the next decade, as annual global demand growth rises by 900,000 barrels per day to [...]
We need a campaign for Living Costs – not for a Living Wage – to really help the poorest November 2, 2015 It's “Living Wage Week”. For seven days, the Living Wage Foundation’s campaign for employers to pay workers at least £8.25 per hour (or £9.40 in London) receives almost wall-to-wall coverage. Campaigners line up to tell us raising pay to this level is good for business as well as employees. Many large firms, most of [...]
Company prospects pick up as insolvencies fall in third quarter October 29, 2015 Prospects for business are looking brighter after industry statistics revealed a drop in the number of companies collapsing into administration in the third quarter of the year. An estimated 363 companies entered administration in the last three months, a decrease of 2.4 per cent compared with the previous quarter and 5.5 per cent lower than [...]