The European Union, following two nasty referendum defeats in just three days, is undoubtedly facing a political crisis, says Edward Hadas on Breakingviews.com. But is it facing a financial one too? Indeed, markets are slightly …
One of many lessons I have learned over the past 21 years in business is that financial markets rarely get things wrong. When they persistently send a clear signal, it is usually a costly mistake …
The UK government has set itself two fiscal rules. The first is that over the economic cycle it should not borrow to cover current spending. The second is that net debt should not exceed 40% …
It must be a rather satisfying feeling to “cock a snook” at a former employer, says Lex in the FT. Yet few would ever have the opportunity to do this on the scale of France’s …
There can be no mistaking the power of the risk reduction trade that has just occurred. It is on a par with the big reversals of the past. What is particularly interesting is that this …
The heat has came down on London recently like a hot iron. It has taken the wrinkles out, and left the whole city as flat and limp as an old pair of pants. We walked …
With crude oil cutting the $60/bbl line and oil markets willing to test the pain threshold of the global economy, the financial markets are turning their eyes on ‘sick Europe’, on the assumption that the …
Mortgage rates in the US are determined by the yield on ten-year Treasury bonds. That means that if foreign central bank buying – such as a number of Asian banks are currently doing – drives …
It seems like yesterday. But it’s only been a little over five years since we were going through the same drill that is playing out today — bemoaning the excesses of an asset bubble and …
Last year, China exported 504 million pairs of socks, 73 million cell phones…and 30 million tourists. It’s true; tourists have become one of the country’s leading ‘exports’. Wanderlust, it seems, is but one of the …