One of the inescapable conclusions of the economic crisis that engulfed the world a decade ago was that the culture of banking needed to change. Allowing finance to regulate itself ended in spectacular failure, underwritten by the taxes of the masses who didn’t profit from the culture of risk-taking in those institutions. But the resignation this week of a ...
Read More »Don’t nix this Brexit fix
Brexit was supposed to be about democracy: Those who wanted to leave the European Union argued that their rights were being trampled on by an unrepresentative EU bureaucracy. Now it’s the U.K. government that is paying insufficient attention to the interests of Brits — and it’s their unelected representatives in Parliament who are defending them. The Brexit referendum won ...
Read More »New travel ban will leave refugees in limbo
US President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban faces scrutiny in courtrooms across the country. Several states and rights group have brought suits against Republican president’s executive order, supposedly a less draconian than the previous order issued on January 27, which met with deluge of opposition and was subsequently blocked by country’s federal courts. The revamped order bans all refugees ...
Read More »Stocks rise, Treasuries rally as Fed tightens
Bloomberg US stocks extended gains, Treasuries rallied and the dollar tumbled after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected while keeping steady its forecast that it will tighten a total of three times this year. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 percent, while the yield on 10-year Treasury notes tumbled to 2.53 percent at 2:02 p.m. in New ...
Read More »Gulf markets mixed but banks buoy Saudi
DUBAI / Reuters Gulf stock markets were mixed on Wednesday but Saudi Arabia was boosted by banks after credit rating agency Moody’s raised its outlook for the kingdom’s banking system to “stable” from “negative”. The Saudi stock index climbed 0.7 percent as 11 of the 12 listed banks gained, with the biggest, National Commercial Bank, rising 2.4 percent. “Saudi ...
Read More »European stocks climb with miners on Fed and Dutch election day
Bloomberg European stocks rose, lifted by gains in mining companies, as traders prepared for decisions by Federal Reserve officials and by Dutch voters that may give market signals for the region’s interest rates and politics. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4 percent at the close. Raw materials producers including Rio Tinto Plc and Glencore Plc led a rebound ...
Read More »Two Irelands have ties Brexit can’t destroy
Having been born into an Irish-American family in what was then a heavily Scots and Irish New Jersey town (Kearny), I somewhat irrationally associate Ireland with the past. But attention is suddenly turning to the future, as the political status of the two Irelands may be up for grabs, mostly because of Brexit. Although this may seem like a ...
Read More »Chinese banks are great, fundamentals aside
A strange thing is happening in Hong Hong’s publicly traded Chinese stocks. Chinese banks, roundly shunned by global investors, are winning the popularity contest among mainland investors buying through the Shenzhen-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connects. According to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., daily purchases of Hong Kong shares via the two links are up 41 percent this year, ...
Read More »Equal marriages go along with more equal pay
A friend recently asked me whether women’s entry into the workforce has been good for men. I couldn’t give him a clear answer, because it’s a complicated question. Overall, the answer is yes, but the change hasn’t been equally good for all men. Those who have successfully adapted their family structure and social norms to the new economic realities ...
Read More »BOJ March plan would taper bond buying by 18 percent
Bloomberg The Bank of Japan’s bond-purchase plan for March puts policy makers on track to miss an annual target, leaving investors debating whether they’re witnessing a stealth tapering. Calculations based on the plan released Feb. 28 suggest a net 66 trillion yen ($575 billion) of purchases if the March pace were to be sustained over the following 11 months. ...
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