The price of gold has risen by over 25% this year, yet mining stocks are in the doldrums. Why? “It is something everybody is thinking about at the moment”, says the manager of one of the largest gold funds. Prices of gold and mines have diverged in the past but the mining stocks have always …
Category archives: Problems
How the eurozone crisis affects businesses
Two weeks ago Siemens withdrew over €500m from a ‘large French bank’, and deposited it with the European Central Bank. Partly this may be because the ECB is paying a higher interest rate (which surely means more risk?). But it seems more likely that Siemens fears there is a significant risk that the ‘large French …
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Copper price falls further
The price of copper has fallen to a 10-month low. The price of copper is seen as closely linked to industrial demand. The latest fall is seen as driven not by the current balance between supply and demand, by uncertainty about the growth outlook in Europe (eurozone crisis) and China (maintaining relatively high interest rates …
Reimagining the economy
In this talk Tim Jackson examines the current economic crisis and finds that the solution isn’t about “curtailing possibilities”: “It’s about opening up: about allowing ourselves the freedom to become fully human, recognising the breath and the depth of the human psyche, and building institutions to protect [that]. … And at the heart… a more credible, …
A return to manufacturing?
As the search continues for ways to end the recession, good ‘old-fashioned’ manufacturing seems to be having a resurgence. Business Secretary Vince Cable says Britain is “beginning to see” a shift towards manufacturing taking a greater share of output. (Of course that could mean that manufacturing is declining, but services are declining faster.) But in …
A return to gold as money
Central banks in Europe and emerging market countries have been buying more gold. Globally, central banks are “set to buy more gold this year than at any time since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, 40 years ago.” But, apparently, their purchases are “minuscule compared with the size of the global gold market” — …
Changes recommended in taxation regime
Every now and again there are rumblings about the need to reform the UK tax system: not just income tax and council tax, and more importantly vat, the tax on fuel, and the tax on greenhouse gas emissions. The Mirlees review, to be published on Wednesday, argues that “sweeping reforms” are necessary. To income tax, …
Increasing sentiment against wealthy?
Barack Obama was today expected to say that he would veto any deficit reduction plan that does not explicitly target millionaire taxpayers. And in the UK, rather more weakly perhaps, Vince Cable was expected to “ramp up rhetoric against the wealthy” at the LibDems conference, calling for a ‘consultation’ into executive pay. This follows his …
UK Government deficit “significantly worse”
The UK Government deficit is around £12bn or 25% worse than previously thought. This has implications for deeper austerity/government spending cuts, “well into the next parliament.” http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f5981c68-dee0-11e0-9130-00144feabdc0.html
Carbon trading to hit airline profits
The airline industry is expected to face a €1.1bn bill next year when carriers around the world are brought into the EU carbon trading scheme. This is a quarter of the industry’s estimated profits this year, as estimated by IATA. (The EU decided to make any airline flying into or within the EU will pay …