Reasons true free trade is key to making Brexit a success
Businessam Staff
August 24, 2017
By Graeme Leach Economists for Free Trade was re-launched this week by 16 of Britain’s leading economists to promote the case for true free trade, with zero tariff and non-tariff barriers (note this doesn’t mean zero standards) on imports, in the wake of Brexit. In the wake of the General Election result, we feel there is […]
People start hating their jobs at age 35
Businessam StaffAugust 22, 2017
Jean Prince was 50 when she started working for a U.K. tech company near Cambridge as a technical author, writing software documentation. “I felt extremely lucky,” she said. But she wasn’t happy. “The workplace has become more impersonal and tougher,” she said. “Everyone is performance-managed to death.” She felt underappreciated and unloved. Older workers tend […]
OPEC: The cartel’s last stand?
Businessam StaffAugust 17, 2017
By Grant Smith Since its creation more than half a century ago, OPEC has become the textbook case of a successful cartel. The 14-member club of crude exporters, which pumps 40 percent of the oil used every day, has held immense sway over the price of a critical commodity — and the global economy. OPEC’s obituary has been written many […]
Why is the US dollar falling?
Businessam StaffAugust 14, 2017
The US dollar, long a symbol of American economic might, has fallen steadily this year. The value of the dollar index, which tracks the dollar against six major global currencies, has fallen about 10% since January. It pushed lower on Friday, even as demand for other safe-haven assets – typically a category that includes the […]
The global financial crisis 10 years on: six charts that tell the story
Businessam StaffAugust 13, 2017
It is hard to believe but it is 10 years since the start of the global financial crisis. Triggered by a collapse in the US housing market it caused the deepest recession in living memory and the near-collapse of the financial system. Banks failed, government institutions were bailed out, stockmarkets crashed and countries had to […]
The FTSE in 2017: Six charts that tell the story so far
Businessam StaffAugust 13, 2017
The FTSE 100, 250 and All-Share indices have all made strong gains and reached record highs in the first half of 2017. The strong performance of London-listed shares is somewhat surprising given the backdrop – June’s snap general election arguably left the government in a weaker position going into Brexit negotiations, while household finances are […]
OPEC swings to panic stations
Businessam StaffAugust 12, 2017
OPEC’s job of rebalancing the oil market has just got a lot more difficult. Not only is there a lot more oil in storage than it previously thought, but the group will need to make deeper output cuts to drain the excess. A month ago OPEC oil ministers had probably read the International Energy Agency’s […]
Here’s what Goldman is telling big money clients about Bitcoin
Businessam StaffAugust 9, 2017
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is acknowledging that it’s getting harder for institutional investors to ignore the cryptocurrency market with total assets ballooning to $120 billion and Bitcoin soaring more than 200 percent this year. “Whether or not you believe in the merit of investing in cryptocurrencies (you know who you are), real dollars are at […]
Bureaus De Change automation, an imperative for customer verification
Businessam StaffAugust 9, 2017
Bureaus De Change (BDCs), as critical stakeholders in the Foreign Exchange (FOREX) Market, are known for the sale of small volumes of international currencies for Invisibles. Such include Personal Travelling Allowances (PTA), Business Travelling Allowances (BTA), overseas school fees and payment of medical fees abroad. Since the renewed onslaught of currency speculators on the Naira, […]
The great escape: How credit raters ducked reform
Businessam StaffAugust 2, 2017
After the subprime crisis, rules-tightening didn’t hit S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch as hard as the banks. There’s a revealing scene in the film version of Michael Lewis’s The Big Short. It’s 2007; the subprime mortgage crisis has yet to unfold. Two hedge fund managers visit a Standard & Poor’s executive in her office on Water […]