Conventional wisdom says that trade jobs related to housing will remain strong even if new home construction takes a tumble. I guess the theory is that people will have to maintain their houses and will …
Housing Bust Spells Nightmare for Renovators
Category: Economy
Is the World Really Facing an Oil Crisis?
Optimists and pessimists are converging in part of the energy debate. Despite many disagreements, the two sides have similar investment conclusions, at least for the short term: Develop fossil fuels, research alternative energies, push conservation. …
The Invisible Consumer
According to official data from the ONS, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail sales increased by 1.9 per cent in the first half of this year, reaching an annual rate of £246.1 bn. The failure …
Japan: The outlook for markets
Now that the drama of postal reform has ended, investors are focused on market trends. What the will Bank of Japan (BoJ) do, and when? How will bond markets respond? What will be the side …
Why Gordon Brown is still too optimistic
Chancellor Gordon Brown has finally halved his growth forecasts to a more realistic level for this year and next, but risks repeating the same mistake in 2007 and 2008. As a result we expect his …
Fund of the week: Performance speaks loudest for Saracen Growth Fund
“It is often said that word of mouth is the best form of marketing,” says Iain Dey in Scotland on Sunday. “But in the world of fund management, performance speaks louder.” When it comes to …
Dollar rises on Treasury job announcement
The currency markets saw plenty of action this week, with the US dollar volatile over speculation about who would take over as US treasury secretary, writes Tom Tragett, editor of ForexProfitAlert.co.uk. At the start of …
Turkey of the Week: a risky retailer
Now forgive me for being a sceptic, but isn’t the downtrodden consumer being squeezed on all sides? Salary expectations are being pegged back by the threat of off-shoring jobs to lower-wage countries (such as India …
Four ways to fat profits
Improbable as it may sound, says Marc Gunther on CNNMoney.com, the latest addition to the McDonald’s menu is a 15-minute exercise DVD. The initiative is an effort “to get out in front of escalating social …
DirecTV tunes into clear future earnings
After first-quarter results showing a 19% fall in subscribers, against forecasts of a 4% increase, investors might want to write off DirecTV (DTV, $17.46) as just a “promising underperformer”, says Jack Hough on SmartMoney.com. They …