Volatility is making it difficult for fund managers to predict the future, and as a result they are trending towards pessimism. The focus is less on earnings growth and more on “balance sheet strength and sustainability”. At the same time, steel companies are still braced for falling prices as buyers delay orders because of nervous …
Daily archives: October 10, 2011
Reliance to sign deal with Disney
Reliance Industries of India, the country’s largest private sector (petrochemicals to retail) group, is close to signing a deal to deliver Disney content to users of its 4G (wireless broadband) mobile phones. At present only 10m people in India have 3G mobile phones, and 4G is yet to be launched. One interesting comment from the …
Ministry of Defence to outsource more activities
These include army recruitment, construction and running of bases, and catering. The aim is to save £250m over ten years, by removing expensively-trained combat troops from administrative roles. The reality is that the new jobs will likely be taken on by the more than 10,000 soliders (of 101,000 today) who are expected to lose their jobs …
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China’s “financial frailty”
Here’s a story you don’t hear every day. In 2009 China encouraged local government to borrow heavily to finance local infrastructure projects. The low interest rates they set to fund this spending spree (and keep the renminbi down) have led investors to place their savings with “shadow banking system”. That has now grown larger than …
‘Arab Spring’ still struggling in Syria
Syria’s foreign ministry has threatened “tough measures” against any state that recognises the council of opposition, announced last month in Istanbul. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/096b5de6-f28b-11e0-824e-00144feab49a.html
US budget “almost fixed”
But it assumes that 4-5% growth will return, boosting taxes, in 2014-15. The FT thinks this is unlikely, but sees the realisation as something that will help force through tax increases and spending cuts, as well as a focus on creating growth and jobs as the best way to grow tax income. What the FT …
Banking regulation proceeds
Global banking regulators are to press ahead with Basel III reforms agreed last year, although there are rising concerns that some countries will not stick to the agreement. Bankers have been against the changes. The balance of opinion was that “everybody gains from designing a safer system.” http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6598d30e-f002-11e0-bc9d-00144feab49a.html
Of the 1%, by the 1%, for…
While protesters Occupy Wall Street for the third week it is interesting to stumble across an article in Vanity Fair (written in May this year) that says almost exactly the same things. The top 1% of Americans earn almost 25% of the national income and own 40% of the assets. Both figures are up on twenty five years ago …
Forecast impacts of climate change
It is useful to remind ourselves of the climate change trajectory we are on. This will have a significant impact for business, in terms of: Disruption/removal of production and supply chains Disruption/removal of customers willing or able to buy products and services Disruption/removal of capital as it is refocused instead to fund the protection from …
How to weather the crisis
Since the problems the world is now facing are pretty much unprecedented, it seems to make sense to approach the situation with no preconceived ideas, and to focus simply on “what works”. In that vein, this article from The Daily Beast is interesting for one simple quote: “it’s interesting to note that it’s the countries …