Covid-19 tearing at the fragilities of Italy and Eurozone
Solutions to appease the crisis face political hurdles. A default or euro exit are possible. ‘il Boom’ is how Italians describe the ‘great transformation’ of Italy over the 1950s and 1960s when a poor country turned itself into a modern industrial powerhouse with a stable currency, the lira. During those decades, rural southern Italians flocked…
Recession Deniers Fading Away
At the close of the 2019 trading year, the second largest investment bank in the US – Goldman Sachs – confidently declared the US economy “all but recession proof.” Goldman now predicts 0% growth in Q1 of 2020 with negative 5% coming in Q2, although the bank along with rival JP Morgan Chase both predict…
Lessons Learned from the GFC
Earlier in the week retail investors still reading the financial news began to see analyst/expert opinions that the dramatic selloffs both here and in the US were an “overreaction” to the uncertainty about the economic impact of the current crisis. The “overreaction” continued in mid-week, with the S&P indices in both countries descending into Bear…
Climate Change: The New Normal
We look back at the climate “super year” of 2019 and examine what investors should look out for in the years to come. The world seems to be losing the battle to halt climate change. Economies and financial markets appear increasingly unprepared for the disruption that higher global temperatures will bring. Moreover, policies to limit…
Interpreting Market News
On many a morning investors around the world awaken to find the price of stocks they own or of stocks in which they have interest has moved dramatically, up or down. There always has been an aura of mystery surrounding share market trading as much of what happens seems to defy explanation, something akin to…
AskTraders.com helps people learn to trade
AskTraders.com has been around for a while now but recently it has had some new features we are loving – especially the Q&A trading forum section. The Q&A section has lots of advice and help for traders who are actively trading and for new traders who are just getting into the game. We can also…
Is This The Next Great Oil Frontier?
Nigeria has long been known for its oil riches. Angola has too, but decades of entrenched corruption have chased foreign investors away. Now Namibia is joining the African oil conversation with one of the most oil-friendly regimes on the continent. It’s offering 5% royalties on what might just be a very productive shale play in…
A look at global investment juggernaut BlackRock
BlackRock, sometimes called the most powerful company you have never heard of, has grown exponentially since its founding in 1988, especially since the 2008 financial crisis. The company has been seen as a shadowy potential beneficiary of the French government’s controversial pension system changes by critics of French President Emmanuel Macron. What BlackRock is The…
Dodging potholes on the road to recovery
After a year in which central banks won the tug of war between macroeconomic policy and political conflict, prospects look positive for a modest recovery in 2020. Yet with trade tensions still rife and valuations stretched, there are still plenty of economic, political and market challenges ahead. 2019 has been a very strong year for…
Will flight shame take off?
Flight shame, or the guilt travellers feel about the harmful emissions produced by air travel, is starting to reduce passenger numbers in Sweden. If this behaviour spreads to the rest of Europe, and in particular begins to influence corporates to cut down on flights, European airlines face a threat to which there is no obvious…
