ODD JOBS February 9, 2011 THINK about the word “business”. There’s lots of busy-ness in business, but not much stop-and-thinky-ness. My job as the “Corporate Philosopher” is all about helping people in business stop and think about what they’re doing; why they’re doing it; and whether it’s right or wrong. As you might imagine, I’m now in high demand after [...]
Clarity on plea bargaining is needed February 8, 2011 WHATEVER the final shape of the Bribery Act, which was once again delayed last week, one area that needs to be clarified is the question of plea bargaining. A number of cases have sown confusion in the minds of British businesses. Clarity on plea bargaining is now sorely needed. The confusion dates to July 2009 [...]
Lawyers are bad at business? Think again February 8, 2011 THIS paper recently ran an article warning that for lawyers “doom is nigh” and that they should shape up or ship out. The context was the Legal Services Act and its welcome shake up of the way in which legal services can be delivered. The article had many solid, good messages: in summary, cutting overheads [...]
Getting a rise out of the Bank of England February 8, 2011 STERLING bulls are probably the only group of people who love inflation right now. Traders have been flocking into the pound in anticipation of a rate rise since May. Those eager rate-risers now pin their hopes on the two votes for a rise on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC): Andrew Sentance and Martin Weale. Since [...]
AUSSIE PARITY IS DEPENDENT ON JOBS DATA February 8, 2011 OVER the past months the land down under has been hit by climatological disasters of near biblical proportions. At the start of the year, economic activity in the state of Queensland was brought to a virtual standstill after floods covered an area larger than France and Germany combined with a blanket of water. Then a [...]
The screws are tightening, but it’s not torture yet February 8, 2011 CHINESE interest rate rises are, it seems, rather like coffee. The effect gets smaller with each extra dose. When the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) first announced an interest rate increase in mid-October last year, the trade-weighted dollar strengthened 1.7 per cent. The second rate rise, announced on Christmas day, produced a smaller reaction, but [...]
THE TIPSTER February 8, 2011 SPECULATION about Swedish interest rates and growth has pushed the Swedish krona to a 10-year high against the euro. The krona has been attracting investors as Sweden’s budget surplus in January came in higher than forecasts and the belief is that interest rates will rise faster than the Eurozone. This has been a long lasting [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS February 8, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Short Kiwi dollar-US dollar at $0.7735 Expertise: Technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 to 6 weeks Rallies continue to be very well capped above $0.7800 and the market has once again stalled out above the figure in favor of yet another bearish reversal. From here, we see [...]
Wall Street’s size and high liquidity are a draw for IPOs February 8, 2011 The New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, is the world’s largest stock exchange by market capitalisation. Figures from December 2010 show that the value of its 3,923 listed companies was $13.39 trillion (£8.31 trillion). This in itself makes it an exchange that should not be ignored by UK investors looking for global diversification. The origins [...]
The world lists in New York February 8, 2011 America is home to many of the world’s biggest companies. However, as mentioned above, NYSE Euronext has a truly global reach. Leading business from Asia, Latin America and Europe choose the exchange for their primary or secondary listings. And this includes many of the UK’s largest blue chip businesses. The top five UK companies listed [...]