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Category Archives: Political
Greece’s oligarchs prepare to make a pretty penny
This article in the FT describes how Mr Papandreou has been trying to crack down on Greece’s tax evaders, and how he revealed a fuel smuggling operation that is costing his country €3bn a year. Meanwhile the country’s oligarchs are: … Continue reading
Posted in Political/Economic, Rich-Poor divide
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Daily snapshot
A eurozone recession “looks almost inevitable before the end of the year, even if the debt crisis does not intensify further”. A Treasury select committee is calling for a “radical overhaul” of the accountability and governance of the Bank of England, … Continue reading
Strange times
Republicans (and two Democrats) in the US Senate last week managed to block a $60bn bill to renew some of the country’s fading infrastructure (including roads, dams, bridges, energy and water systems). The reason? Funding was to have come from an additional … Continue reading
Daily snapshot
Trends in today’s news. Financial Reform: A group of Singaporean investors have won the right to sue Morgan Stanley in the USA, claiming they were sold investment products that were designed to fail. Morgan Stanley had asked for the case … Continue reading
Snapshot of today
The US Federal Reserve has cut its growth forecast for 2012 from 3.5% to 2.7%, and is still predicting low inflation, but has not reduced interest rates. People who bet that market volatility would reduce after the eurozone agreement have … Continue reading
Even FTSE considers tougher rules
It is a measure of the volatility of the current financial situation that not only the regulators but also a private company like the FTSE (a joint venture between the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange) is considering beefing up … Continue reading
Japan weakens yen, as outlook remains complex, volatile
Japan spent about £38bn today, selling yen to weaken its currency (which has gained 41% against the dollar and 47% against the euro since early 2008). The government is worried that a continuing strong yen would hurt exporters, encourage manufacturers … Continue reading
Posted in Currencies, Political/Economic
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Equities rise on eurozone deal
News that private investors will accept a 50% reduction in the face value of their loans to Greece, and that that country will be able to reduce its debt to 120% of GDP by 2020, were met by a rise … Continue reading
China has more internet users than population of EU
The modernisation of China continues apace, as measured by the number of citizens with access to the Internet, which has transformed western lifestyles and economies. China now has over half a billion people using the Internet, more than twice the number … Continue reading
Banking regulation may have negative side-effects
The EU wants to prevent speculation on credit defaults by banning short- or naked-selling of Credit Default Swaps. Unintended consequences could be either that the entities that wanted to take the short positions would then switch to shorting other instruments, … Continue reading