It seems that consumers may be reining in spending on the high street, but not going on our annual holiday abroad would be the “last sacrifice”, says Lex in the FT. Good news for First …
The Final Consumer Sacrifice
Category: Economy
Why garden centres are blooming
Last month’s Chelsea Flower Show proved once again just how popular gardening has become with the British public – popularity that borders on obsession. These days, the annual event is a cross between a grand …
What do you mean, ‘No’?
To the delight of Europhobes everywhere, the French electorate has delivered a significant ‘Non!’ to the European Union constitution, even though it was drafted by one of their own, the congenitally haughty ex-President Valerie Giscard …
Lower Interest Rates On the Way…
Long-term interest rates are at 40-year lows. Could they possibly go lower? Economist Gary Shilling says they can. Before this bull market in bonds is over, Gary predicts that long-term interest rates in the U.S. will …
UK Consumer – Bills, Bills, Bills
The single most important factor influencing most decisions on retail spending and spending on services is the level of household income after payments of capital, interest on debt and other non-discretionary payments — bills of …
Can the Fed Find the Sweet Spot?
Long-term bond yields are shockingly low despite the Fed’s best efforts to push them higher. Alan Greenspan calls it a “conundrum.” What does that mean? The Fed must fight inflation and recession at the same …
What Will Happen To Our Jobs?
Consumers feel less secure about their own employment prospects, and are more sceptical about the UK jobs market, than they were last month, according to the latest Consumer Barometer from Lloyds TSB Financial Markets. A …
Making Poverty History
Despite strong output growth, the Turkish economy is struggling to create enough jobs. Turkey has enjoyed an impressive macroeconomic turnaround in the past four years, with accelerating economic growth and declining inflation rates, that has …
The Wobbling Chinese Stockmarket
Which market do you think will make the better investment over the next five years? China or Germany? The intuitive answer is China. After all we all know it is the fastest growing economy in …
The New Macro of Globalization
Globalization is rewriting the script of some of our most time-honored macro relationships. That’s true of the forces shaping employment, real wages, income generation, inflation, and trade and capital flows. On all of those counts, …