After its PMI figures disappointed in April, is France Europe’s real problem country? April 23, 2015 Anna Stupnytska is global economist at Fidelity Worldwide Investment, says Yes @AnnaStupnytska The tick-down in France’s PMIs this month is likely to be more a reflection of Greece-related uncertainty weighing on confidence, and still-subdued global demand. The fall in Germany’s reading confirms that April’s weakness is broad-based, not necessarily to do with country-specific factors. However, [...]
Why markets shouldn’t necessarily fear a minority government in the UK April 22, 2015 After taking account of polling by Lord Ashcroft in the key 150 marginal constituencies, the opinion polls have been consistently suggesting that no single party will have a clear majority after 7 May (effectively, gaining over 323 seats, given that five Sinn Fein MPs are unlikely to take their seats in the House of Commons). [...]
Private investors could swing the election – but parties are offering nothing April 22, 2015 The manifestos have finally been published and we now know what each party is promising. Unfortunately, not one seems to be listening to the voices of personal investors. According to Platforum’s latest Direct to Consumer research, there is now £132bn invested on direct to consumer investment platforms by some 5.8m active investors. This is a [...]
Back to basics for Tesco: Dave Lewis’s plan has a fighting chance of success April 22, 2015 If Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis takes any pleasure in yesterday’s apocalyptic-sounding headlines, it will be the knowledge that the “kitchen sinking” is complete – surely there can be no more bad news for the retailer to announce. Such a huge loss – £6.4bn in the year to the end of February, and one of [...]
As the Bank’s latest minutes suggest, is it likely that inflation will bounce back soon? April 22, 2015 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser at PwC, says Yes Consumer price index inflation has been at zero for two months now. But looking ahead, the pressures are in an upward direction. The oil price has recently risen above $60 per barrel and petrol prices are firming up. The labour market continues to tighten, putting upward [...]
Labour would never recover from a Faustian pact with the SNP April 21, 2015 As the opinion polls blow hot and cold for both the Labour and Conservative leaders, so Ed Miliband and David Cameron are likely to broker a deal with minor parties to form a government. No one I know believes an outright victory from an overall majority is on the cards. For the Conservatives, the choices [...]
Why zero inflation means there are no more free lunches for politicians April 21, 2015 The temptation to believe in the concept of a free lunch has proved irresistible to numerous governments through the ages. Henry VIII, for example, has seized the popular imagination once again through Damian Lewis’s brilliant portrayal of him in Wolf Hall. Bluff King Hal is the nickname often associated with the King. But to his [...]
Steve Jobs was wrong: The customer knows best in the age of crowd-sourcing April 21, 2015 Apple’s 1997 “Think Different” campaign stands out as one of the major turning points in that company’s history. It was a message that Steve Jobs and his innovative spirit had returned to the firm, after he left in 1985. Jobs was as famous for championing the misfit as for saying that, in business, you won’t [...]
Without significant progress at the Eurogroup meeting this week, is Greek default inevitable? April 21, 2015 Sam Bowman is deputy director of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes No country has pulled back from a peacetime debt-to-GDP ratio as high as Greece’s 175 per cent without defaulting. Its options are to grow out of debt, default unilaterally, or restructure its debt in cooperation with the Eurogroup. With the last of these [...]
Google search shake-up could leave firms in the lurch – Bottom Line April 20, 2015 GOOGLE is about to embark on a major algorithm change which could leave businesses who have yet to adapt to mobile see their customer base shrink overnight. Billed as “mobilegeddon” in some quarters, the search engine will tomorrow start to roll out what is expected to be the biggest change to its search results in [...]