The euro’s steady deterioration is the European Central Bank’s (ECB) saving grace. It buys policy makers more time to assess how dovish it needs to be — but they need to be careful not to fritter away this asset. The euro-area economy is decelerating rapidly, and it is the export-led nations that are suffering most. Keeping the currency from approaching ...
Read More »Nigeria needs growth to defuse poverty time bomb
One of humanity’s most hopeful developments in recent decades has been the dramatic drop in extreme poverty. In 2000, some 1.4 billion people lived at or below the global poverty line of $1.90 a day. Today, the number is about 600 million. This remarkable change is mainly due to growth in China and India: Much of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria, ...
Read More »Remainers, be careful what Brexit you wish for
The remainer side of the great Brexit divide might be tempted to feel a little smug right now. Things are finally looking up. It’s what lies around the corner that should scare them. There is almost no prospect of Britain leaving the European Union (EU) without a deal after last week’s dramatic parliamentary vote. Instead, Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May ...
Read More »Germany’s economic data contradicts itself
Germany’s economic outlook resembles Winston Churchill’s description of Russia: a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Analysts are banging their heads over the contradictory data emanating from Europe’s largest economy after it narrowly escaped a recession at the end of last year. The question of how severe Germany’s slowdown really is matters for policy makers, especially for those ...
Read More »Is pay-as-you-earn model the future of education?
Is it possible to equitise human labour? For years people have talked about the idea of selling shares in one’s own talent, in the hope of attracting funds and assistance from others. Now it seems that this idea is happening at scale, through the Lambda School in California. The Lambda School teaches information technology skills online, and it charges zero ...
Read More »US futures, Europe stocks edge lower with greenback
Bloomberg US equity futures and European shares edged down after President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on goods produced in the EU. The dollar slipped while Treasuries nudged higher. Contracts on the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq pointed to a weaker open and the Stoxx 600 Index erased an earlier gain as the European Union prepared retaliatory tariffs in response ...
Read More »Some stocks surge as Japan redesigns currency notes
Bloomberg Japan announced new currency note designs today, sending shares of several somewhat obscure companies soaring. Glory Ltd — a provider of cash sorting machines — rallied as much as 19 percent, the most in more than 11 years, after the Ministry of Finance said that it plans to circulate new bill designs by the first half of the fiscal ...
Read More »Big foreign lenders could face new risk rules under Fed’s plan
Bloomberg The Federal Reserve is proposing a new approach for overseeing foreign banks such as Deutsche Bank AG, Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG that’s expected to require some of them to hold bigger stockpiles of easy-to-sell assets to guard against losses. Fed board members voted 4-1 to seek comment on its plan for a new system that closely ...
Read More »Trumps says US economy doing well despite ‘destructive’ Fed
Bloomberg President Donald Trump fired a fresh broadside at the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates last year, saying the economy is in good shape “despite the unnecessary and destructive actions†taken by the central bank. In a tweet, Trump added that trade agreements with China, Canada and Mexico are “moving along nicely, there is little or no Inflation, and ...
Read More »SocGen to cut 1,600 jobs globally as slump hits trading
Bloomberg Societe Generale SA said it plans to cut about 1,600 jobs after a slump in trading revenue pushed Chief Executive Officer Frederic Oudea to intensify efforts to boost profit at the investment-banking unit. The reductions include close to 1,200 positions at the global banking and investor solutions division, which houses its trading activities, a trade union representing SocGen’s French ...
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