Bloomberg Millions of Americans have gone back to work since the last recession. Now they’re finally getting some decent pay raises. Average hourly earnings of workers climbed 2.8 percent in October from a year earlier, the fastest pace in seven years, Labor Department figures showed Friday in Washington. Rising wages are encouraging people to look for greener pastures: Among ...
Read More »Blog Layout
Tesco Bank blocks credit cards after fraud complaints
Bloomberg Tesco Bank, the lending arm of the UK grocery chain, blocked some of its customers’ cards after receiving complaints of as much as 600 pounds ($750) being taken from accounts fraudulently. Fraud prevention systems identified suspicious activity on Saturday, the bank said. As a precautionary measure it blocked some customer cards and sent text messages to notify those ...
Read More »What to watch for on USA’s election night
Tuesday evening, after Election Day’s tranquillity, new clamours will erupt as analysts with agendas tickle portents and lessons from the torrent of election returns. Herewith some developments to watch. In the 17 elections since World War II, the winner has averaged 385.4 electoral votes, the loser 145.1. In six elections (1952, 1956, 1964, 1972, 1980, 1984), a major-party candidate ...
Read More »Clinton must prepare now for her next war
If Hillary Clinton wins the presidential election on Tuesday, she will be under no illusions about what awaits. Even if Donald Trump is defeated, the political party that nurtured his dangerous ambition will not be. (And Trump may never concede defeat in any case.) Barack Obama was elected president in 2008 amid waves of euphoria. By the night of his ...
Read More »Tackling homelessness can help Medicaid save money
In a growing number of states, Medicaid directors have come to believe they could save money by housing the homeless. The federal government is providing money to find out if they’re right. There’s good reason to think this is an experiment worth trying. The idea arose from two developments. First, Obamacare’s drastic expansion of eligibility for Medicaid coverage has ...
Read More »UAE’s carbon capture project commendable
The UAE is stepping up use of innovative technologies to bring about reduction in its carbon footprint. On Saturday, it started a carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project that will take out 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. The technology will not just capture CO2, but also enhance oil recovery and liberate gas. This facility is one ...
Read More »High Court doesn’t care if the people want Brexit
Striking a blow against popular sovereignty by referendum, the U.K. High Court of Justice held on Thursday that Britain can’t leave the European Union without an act of Parliament. Because British constitutional thought is so different from its U.S. and European equivalents, the decision will be difficult for the U.K.’s Supreme Court to overturn. It’s now much more likely ...
Read More »Anonymous trolls are what’s crippling Twitter
I love Twitter. I use it every day. I’ve made a number of friends using the service, and often have interesting exchanges with an even larger number of colleagues and smart people. It has been essential to my career; it’s hard to imagine doing my job without Twitter or some similar tool for connecting with the public. But Twitter Inc. ...
Read More »This bull market has room to keep on running
Barry Ritholtz Are we in a short-term cyclical bull market, one that is already long in the tooth and coming to an end? Or are we in the early years of a secular bull market, one that might last a decade or more? The answer could have a significant impact on how your portfolios perform during the next few ...
Read More »Zombie banks stalk Africa with mergers one way to limit risk
Bloomberg Africa’s many small and under-capitalized banks, laden with bad debt, are inflicting more pain on already embattled economies. Regulators may have no choice but to force lenders to consolidate or close. A third of Nigeria’s 21 banks may be under-capitalized. Much smaller Uganda has 25 banks and last month suffered one collapse. Kenya has had three failures since ...
Read More »