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IMF warns on recession’s “social consequences”
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, MD of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has a surprisingly hard-hitting interview today in Bloomberg. Casting aside normal central bank reticence he warns: • Their current...
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IMF says “demand has collapsed”, sees “deflation risk”
A year ago, the International Monetary Fund rightly warned that the world was facing a “serious economic slowdown”. This week, it has updated its forecasts, and now “expects the global economy to come...
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Quote of the year
“Never in the field of financial endeavour has so much money been owed by so few to so many. And, one might add, so far with little real reform.” Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, proposing that...
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Leverage returns to financial markets
Gillian Tett, the blog’s favourite financial journalist, highlights today the rampant speculative behaviour in financial markets around the world. Quoting a senior banker, she notes that “highly...
View ArticleINEOS considers asset sale as it continues to re-shape its business
The blog has recently noted a major change of mindset in the financial community. As the Financial Times commented this week: “For the first time in a long time, banks seem to be in control of their...
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Super-fast computers lead financial markets under QE2
Super-fast computers continue to increase their role in financial markets. They first came into prominence in H2 2009, when the ‘correlation trade’ began. Their role is nothing to do with price...
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Super-computers party, as energy markets trade at record ratios
Something very strange has been happening to US energy prices over the past 2 years. The chart above shows the ratio between WTI crude oil pricing and natural gas: • It was between 6.0 and 13.0 for 22...
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High-frequency trading continues to take markets higher
The blog was very pleased to see the Nobel Prize awarded jointly to Robert Shiller, whose words of wisdom on housing and stock markets it has cited many times. Shiller’s key insight, in his book...
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China’s president highlights ‘new normal’ of economic growth
China’s President Xi Jinping became the first world leader to highlight the move into a “new normal” at the weekend: “China is still in a significant period of strategic opportunity. We must boost our...
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China electricity consumption growth drops to 1% in H1
Latest data for China’s economy continue to suggest a major slowdown is underway: Rail freight, one of Premier Li’s key data points, was down 11% in January – May versus 2014 Total lending was down 15%...
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