Category: Economy

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Today’s ugly data raises questions about strength of U.S. economy

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy showed worrisome signs as jobless claims rose sharply last week while ground-breaking at home construction sites tumbled in April and a gauge of underlying inflation pointed to weak demand. The data could fuel fears over the impact of a government austerity drive that began in January, and could raise pressure [...]

Published by on May 21, 2013 1:05 AM
Global property markets: Boom and gloom
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Global property markets: Boom and gloom

STOCKMARKETS around the world have been stimulated by ultra-loose monetary policy. The response of property markets—the biggest asset class of all—has varied. Whereas the housing boom before the financial crisis was remarkable for its global reach, the recovery after the bust is patchy. Among the 18 countries shown in the table, prices have risen over [...]

Published by on May 20, 2013 3:05 AM
Monetary stimulus may leave damage in its wake as countries withdraw measures: BoC
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Monetary stimulus may leave damage in its wake as countries withdraw measures: BoC

OTTAWA — Slashing interest rates and printing wads of money may have saved the global economy from catastrophe, but taking back all the monetary candy opens the world to new risks, the Bank of Canada warns in a research paper. Canada’s policy makers fixed on doing nothing Terence Corcoran: Instead of moving to reverse the [...]

Published by on May 20, 2013 1:05 AM
Free exchange: The humble hero
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Free exchange: The humble hero

THE humble shipping container is a powerful antidote to economic pessimism and fears of slowing innovation. Although only a simple metal box, it has transformed global trade. In fact, new research suggests that the container has been more of a driver of globalisation than all trade agreements in the past 50 years taken together. Containerisation [...]

Published by on May 19, 2013 3:04 PM
Trading in oil: Libor in a barrel
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Trading in oil: Libor in a barrel

IT IS a lesson of the past five years that benchmarks in unregulated markets can fall victim to the incentives they create. Subprime mortgages bundled into securities often won high scores from ratings agencies that stood to profit in a busy market. The London Interbank Offered Rate, LIBOR, was sometimes underestimated by banks which were [...]

Published by on May 19, 2013 3:01 AM
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Canada’s inflation rate tumbles to its slowest since 2009

OTTAWA — Cheaper gasoline and cars helped Canada’s annual inflation rate fall dramatically in April to 0.4% from 1.0% in March, below expectations and well outside the Bank of Canada’s target range of 1 to 3%. It was the lowest since 0.1% in October 2009. Statistics Canada said on Friday prices fell by 0.2% on [...]

Published by on May 19, 2013 1:01 AM
Stockmarkets: Don’t worry, be happy
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Stockmarkets: Don’t worry, be happy

EQUITY bulls are on the charge. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the SP 500 index have each notched up record highs so far this year, with investors enjoying double-digit gains. European shares, as measured by the Stoxx Europe 600 index, have reached their highest levels in almost five years. Libor in a barrel Boom [...]

Published by on May 18, 2013 3:00 PM
Turkish banks: The lure of the Bosphorus
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Turkish banks: The lure of the Bosphorus

BIG boys usually get their way, particularly in banking. But earlier this year the Industrial Commercial Bank of China, the world’s biggest bank, was outsmarted when it tried to gain a foothold in the Turkish market by buying Alternatifbank. Before ICBC could pounce, Commercial Bank of Qatar snapped up 71% for $460m. Now the Chinese [...]

Published by on May 18, 2013 3:00 AM
Cyprus faces risk of even deeper recession: IMF
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Cyprus faces risk of even deeper recession: IMF

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund said Friday that substantial risks still loom for the Cypriot economy even after a multi-billion dollar international bailout aimed at averting a debt default. A new IMF report predicted a deep recession in Cyprus this year and next and said there is a danger that the downturn could be [...]

Published by on May 18, 2013 12:59 AM
Bloomberg: Too much information
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Bloomberg: Too much information

TODAY, what really connects the financial world? Money, intellect and ideology are candidates. But the best answer may be: the Bloomberg terminal. More than 315,000 of these data cockpits (see picture) are in use around the world, leased for $20,000 a year. To locate a shared terminal in an office one merely needs to follow [...]

Published by on May 17, 2013 2:57 PM
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