The ongoing weakness in tech stocks brings with it the inevitable portent that we are witnessing the bursting of a new dot com bubble akin to that of the late nineties and early noughties. Shortly before…
In 2013 Imperial Tobacco, one of four major transnational tobacco companies, posted its first fall in profits in 17 years. One could be forgiven for thinking from the proposed introduction of new restrictions…
Winning large research and capital grants could soon bring unwanted headaches for UK universities along with all the acclaim. From the next academic year, their accountants will be expected to adopt new…
Much to ponder for Osborne’s favourite voters.
Robert Sharp
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, “pulled a rabbit out of the hat” for pensioners and savers with changes to UK pensions that have been hailed as the most significant overhaul to the system…
China’s equivalent of the Nasdaq stock exchange is failing to attract some of the country’s most innovative companies. ChiNext was supposed to anchor local high-tech businesses on home soil with a secure…
Investor confidence is evaporating on fears of low returns and increased market volatility. But a new survey also found corporate governance issues weighing on the minds of retail investors.
AAP/Paul Miller
An overwhelming proportion of investors want the introduction of a rating system to identify poorly governed companies, according to a new survey. And over 80% of those polled said they would stay away…
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim warns investors not to ignore climate risks.
EPA/Chris Kleponis
If you haven’t heard about the growing campaign for fossil fuel divestment, and what it means for both your retirement funds and for the global economy, it’s time to pay attention - because now even the…
Self managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) have come under criticism from regulators amid concerns that the sector is over-investing in the residential property sector. The profession has hit back at the…
Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo, faces the challenge of adding value to the company’s shares, without detracting from the user experience.
AAP
In a tweet that could represent US$110 million for every one of its 135 characters, Twitter last week announced that it would be following fellow social network providers Facebook and LinkedIn in becoming…
Research suggests Twitter trends can accurately forecast stock market changes.
www.shutterstock.com
On April 23, the US stock market suddenly lost 1.5% of its value after news of an attack on the White House quickly spread from the (hacked) Twitter account of the Associated Press news agency. Within…
The term of the new Australian government – whether finally led by Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott or Malcolm Turnbull – will be shaped by one dominant economic reality: the end of the mining boom. The immediate…
Greece is feeling the heat from its European creditors.
liako
The latest political crisis in Greece began with a spat over the future of public tv and radio. The fragile political consensus among the three-way government coalition was finally broken with one party…
Time to start building, George.
Lefteris Pitarakis/PA
John Van Reenen, London School of Economics and Political Science
The International Monetary Fund’s annual investigation into the health of the UK economy makes ugly reading. The IMF points out that “per capita income remains 6% below its pre-crisis peak, making this…
Speed is not enough, we need growth.
Gareth Fuller/PA
The International Monetary Fund’s annual report on the UK economy calls for the Chancellor to boost economic growth through investing in infrastructure. While the IMF is right to make this point, we must…
Gold and silver are traditionally considered “safe havens”.
Image sourced from shutterstock.com
Safe haven investments are investments that provide a low level of risk during periods of extreme economic uncertainty. The problem is that a safe haven investment is a safe haven investment until it is…
The last Space Shuttle recently returned to Earth. That reminded me that 45 years ago I was undertaking a PhD in physics at Australian National University, investigating the re-entry of the space shuttle…