The Week
The Week
Rodney Hobson's topical column on the biggest business stories of the last seven days, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday.
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Latest 'The Week' - 03/07/09
New balls please
The role of psychology in the equity markets shouldn’t be underplayed
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26/06/09 - The sun rises in the East
Having worked for seven years in the Far East, I take more interest than most investors in what is happening on the Pacific shores
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19/06/09 - The bubble that won't burst
The inflation figures do not lie. Once again the evidence shows that it is inflation, not deflation, that is the threat to recovery
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12/06/09 - The green green shoots of home
Much has been made in this column about the conflicting signals that have emanated from the economy over the past few months but this week we have seen some genuine signs of improvement.
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05/06/09 - Poor Darling
It has been a long running theme of this column that it is better for a chancellor of the exchequer to be lucky rather than good. They don’t come much unluckier than Alistair Darling.
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29/05/09 - X rating
Private investors may well be wondering what the fuss over the UK’s credit rating is all about
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22/05/09 - Down but not out
At last we have some decent inflation figures, yet already economists are being wheeled out to warn us of the dangers of deflation
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15/05/09 - Harrowing times
With wonderful timing Harrow council has decided to prosecute a woman who used her mother’s address to apply for a better school for her son
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08/05/09 - How time (and money) flies
We can dare to hope that, however bad things are, the rot has been stopped. It is highly significant that the stock market is ignoring the bad news and concentrating on the positive
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01/05/09 - Untold riches
When a fund manager suggests the government is set to make billions out of the bank bailout we should resist the temptation to shout hallelujah
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24/04/09 - Boredom rules OK
Budgets are getting more boring. When James Callaghan delivered a non-event some 30-odd years ago it was, well, quite an event for a Chancellor to do so little on his big day
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17/04/09 - A break in the clouds
They say that no news is good news and the Easter break has given us the chance to put world economic events out of our minds
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03/04/09 - 20:20 vision
So far so good. Well, it’s a start but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The G20 communique was singularly lacking in clichés so there’s few for starters
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27/03/09 - The g(u)ilty parties
There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the failed gilt auction. Commentators seem to be missing the important point...
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20/03/09 - Turn again, Lord Turner
Lord Turner has pronounced: there will be more financial regulation. Quite what, though, is unclear...
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13/03/09 - Pundit Pandit
Citigroup has suddenly gone from zero to hero: one of the architects of the credit crunch has been profitable for the past two months
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06/03/09 - Blind man's bluff
A curious game of swings and roundabouts has begun in the gilts market. The official name is quantitative easing but perhaps it would be better known as blind man’s bluff
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27/02/09 - A rose among thorns
Funny how the Footsie went up on the day that Royal Bank of Scotland announced the biggest annual loss in UK history
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20/02/09 - Bull's eye
The perception that Gordon Brown has a monopoly on great economic ideas has been enhanced by suggestions that the Federal Reserve Bank has effectively set an inflation target for the US
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13/02/09 - Us and them
We now have apologies from four of the country’s top former bankers for the disaster they inflicted on the nation.
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06/02/09 - A cut too far
So the Bank of England has gone ahead with another headline grabbing interest rate cut....
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30/01/09 - Rights right
Investors could be forgiven for looking askance...
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23/01/09 - Hope in the frozen wastes
Perhaps there really are green shoots of economic recovery peeping out of the frosty ground.
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16/01/09 - Back to square one
Shares in London have stabilised this morning although the news continues to be bleak. The market swings wildly yet ends up going nowhere.
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09/01/09 - Belated Humbug
The Bank of England made another grand gesture in reducing...
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19/12/08 - What the Dickens!
We don't put people into debtors' prison any more...
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12/12/08 - Here comes Santa
Here comes Santa. Oh no he doesn't!
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06/12/08 - Walk the Line
The Bank of England has gone for the spectacular rather than the truly amazing in reducing interest rates to 2%.
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28/11/08 - Hard Times
Desperate time call for desperate measures...
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21/11/08 - Drawing the line
Every time it looks as if we can start to put the banking scandal behind us, more bad news seems to crop up.
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14/11/08 - A Tangled Web
Another week, another bouncing about for stock markets the world over.
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07/11/08 - Doddering markets
As 1999 drew to an end, Ken Dodd joked that we were about to witness something quite momentous.
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31/10/08 - Bully for Barclays
Barclays has avoided the indignity of joining the government bailout scheme and that is good news all round.
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24/10/08 - Rewards for failure
The father of the prodigal son has much to answer for. He set a very bad example that is still followed today.
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17/10/08 - Untying the Gordon knot
We need people to reduce their unsustainable debts. We need people to spend more. Discuss.
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10/10/08 - Hell freezes over
It's payback time at last for the cod wars. Older readers will remember that back in the 1970's Iceland arbitrarily extended the amount of ocean it claimed to own around its coastline...
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03/10/08 - Return to reality
Blimey, I leave the country
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26/09/08 - The Long and Short of it
This week was dominated by the will they, won't they...
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19/09/08 - The end of the world as we know it?
Where to start? After almost a year of speculation about who had let their traders run amok with their balance sheets, who was hiding the biggest losses, who was too big to fail
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12/09/08 - US Government closes coffers?
Markets rebounded cheerily on the news that the US was going to bail out mortgage institutions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, before the troubles at Lehman Brothers derailed them again.
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05/09/08 - Poor Darling
Poor Alistair Darling. Unlike his predecessor, who came up smelling of roses whatever happened, Darling finds himself in positions where whatever he does can be criticised.
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29/08/08 - Russian roulette
As feathers fly between the hawks and the doves, share and forex markets are becoming increasingly certain that there will be a reduction before year end.
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22/08/08 - On the other hand ...
We have a three-way split on interest rates at the Bank of England for the second month in a row. Talk about keeping your options open.
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15/08/08 - Through a glass darkly
Inflation is getting worse/is passing its peak. The economy is heading for recession/will narrowly avoid it ... The glass is half full/half empty. Answers please to the Bank of England.
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08/08/08 - The only way is down
Reality has prevailed at the Bank of England. If the decision to keep interest rates at 5% was widely expected, it was not a foregone conclusion.
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01/08/08 - The heat is on Italy
The euro has been the one great achievement of the Common Market/European Economic Community/European Community/European Union. Do not take any pleasure in suggestions that Italy may be forced out.
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25/07/08 - Paradise postponed
There are ominous signals in the latest minutes of the Bank of England's interest rate setting committee before we even start to think about the implications of the highly unusual split vote...
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18/07/08 - A Day in the Sun
Better news this week: we had a sunny day, we could avoid recession, we could get a rate cut next year, the oil price has fallen back and bank shares have bounced. Who could ask for more?
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11/07/08 - Life in the real world
While the Bank of England has followed expectations by keeping interest rates on hold, rates are still rising out in the real world.
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04/07/08 - Bradford & Bungled revisited
Those of us who are not shareholders in Bradford & Bingley don't know whether to laugh or cry at the latest developments; shareholders have only one choice.
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27/06/08 - Bradford and Bungled
Latest TV adverts from Bradford & Bingley show a girl in a mini skirt wearing the bowler once donned by a couple of stuffed shirts.
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20/06/08 - Eastern promise
There is an odd glimmer of hope for UK inflation, though not for the economy: a slowdown in China and India.
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13/06/08 - Double trouble
If it isn't the banks it's the house builders. Or worse still, it is both.
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06/06/08 - Rights wronged
House builders are lining up at the back of the banking queue to make rescue rights issues. This is a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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30/05/08 - Rolling Stones gather no Moss Bros
The sterile game of poker at clothing retailer Moss Bros continues to take its toll, with Icelandic investor Baugur throwing in its hand rather than trying to bluff against two other players
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23/05/08 - Digging a hole in the garden
The serious dangers involved in clinging onto shares after a successful takeover have been played out publicly at Dobbies Garden Centres
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16/05/08 - The Light Dawns
Rising inflation will hinder the Bank of England in making further interest rate cuts, the Governor has indicated. Now where have we heard that before
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09/05/08 - Terminator V
The fiasco at Terminal 5 becomes more bizarre. British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh told the Commons transport committee he knew back in September that the terminal was behind schedule.
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02/05/08 - Slick publicity
Terrible news. British companies have been making large sums of money, most of it abroad. And they are likely to continue doing so.
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25/04/08 - When doves cry
The Bank of England's stance on interest rates becomes increasingly divorced from the realities of inflation. We are simply trying to tackle too many competing problems with one weapon.
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18/04/08 - Cash call waiting
Fears that a round of rights issues by UK banks will be needed to prop up their damaged balance sheets have failed to dent the stock market, which looks in remarkably good heart.
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11/04/08 - A political rally
The FTSE 100 index has topped 6,000 points twice this week. The first time was short-lived and the second attempt could not hold for long either.
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04/04/08 - Homeland insecurity
Banks are cutting back on mortgage lending while allowing customers to run up unsecured debts. It doesn't take a degree in economics to work out that this is a bad idea.
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28/03/08 - Trash and burn
No good can come of City stories appearing amongst the general news. A move to the front of the newspaper from the back will inevitably turn the details back to front.
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14/03/08 - Sense and tense stability
Something odd struck me as Alistair Darling delivered his first (and some say last) Budget: he did not seem particularly nervous.
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07/03/08 - Inflated hopes
It was rather disconcerting to see UK stocks fall sharply and the pound rising immediately after the Bank of England decided to keep rates on hold - had the markets really hoped for a cut this month?
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29/02/08 - Turbulent times: Is there a Doctor off the plane?
The gyrations on the stock exchange continue apace. This turbulence is likely to continue for some time and the Footsie seems likely to baulk at 6,000 points.
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22/02/08 - Unsafe as houses
Our two-tier banking system is now fully exposed: there are real banks and there are mortgage banks.
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15/02/08 - Boys will be boys
The banking industry has sent a boy out to do a man's job. Oh, for the good old days of Northern Rock!
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08/02/08 - The history boys
There are two things you can learn from history: one is that history does repeat itself and the other is that people never learn from history.
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01/02/08 - The blame game
Among the latest office buzzwords, it was reported this week, is blame storming. When things go wrong, staff sit around a table and debate who should cop the opprobrium.
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25/01/08 - Exit, pursued by a bear
There is no widely recognised definition of what constitutes a bear market. But, even after a week of unprecedented drama in the City, it's hard to shake the impression that we are already in one.
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18/01/08 - The price of everything
Something curious happened with UK inflation figures this week: they did not go up and on one widely accepted measure inflation actually fell.
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11/01/08 - All things in moderation
Here's hoping for a moderately good year. After the horrors that beset the second half of 2007, it would be wise not to hope for too much.
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04/01/08 - From judgement day to stag night
Investment advice for 2008: melt down your jewellery and siphon your petrol tank. Because, unless it's hard and shiny or wet and oily, nobody's interested.
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21/12/07 - Humbug
Season's greetings. The value of your house dropped more than £7,500 in a month, your savings are dwindling, your debt costs have spiralled and your haul of presents this year is likely to be meagre.
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14/12/07 - Browned off
There's no pleasing some folk and US investors have shown a great dollop of ingratitude for yet another reduction in interest rates.
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07/12/07 - Avalanche!
The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street has, like dear Blanche in the film High Society, got knocked down by an avalanche.
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30/11/07 - The wild and the willing
It is hard to remember when there was so much volatility on the stockmarket over so long a period.
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23/11/07 - Optimists 1, Pessimists 1
The division of interest rate expectations into optimism and pessimism has widened with news that the Bank of England committee voted by seven to two this month to keep interest rates on hold.
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16/11/07 - King backs both horses
The November quarterly inflation report has been widely hailed as heralding an impending reduction in UK interest rates. I believe it signals a delay in any such cuts.
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09/11/07 - Week at the knees
That was a bad week. The best thing you can say about it is that we don't get many like it.
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02/11/07 - King lords it
The tables are turned as the Fed now finds itself sitting uncomfortably while the Bank of England no longer finds itself between a Northern Rock and a hard place.
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26/10/07 - No time for tears
Oil has topped $90 a barrel and metals including gold are surging in price as well. It could all end in tears - but not just yet.
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19/10/07 - Tugged both ways
Conflicting signals continue to beset the stockmarket and it looks as if 6,700 points on the Footsie is a ceiling too far at the moment.
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12/10/07 - Where there's a will
Where there's a will there's relations, as my old Dad used to say. I hope the furore over inheritance tax does not take attention away from wider issues.
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05/10/07 - Out of step
Has the world gone mad or is London out of step with reality?
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28/09/07 - Railtrack on bricks
Northern Rock has narrowly avoided having a Railtrack moment.
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21/09/07 - Last chance saloon
Two remarkable - and so far successful - gambles on either side of the Atlantic transformed stockmarkets this week just when it looked as if the only way was down.
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14/09/07 - A risk too far
So Northern Rock is the first real UK casualty of the credit crunch. It is unlikely to be the last.
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07/09/07 - Not my problem, Guv
Stockmarkets are particularly difficult to read these days and it's not just because of the recent turbulence. Signs point in so many different directions and the Bank of England is not helping.
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31/08/07 - Fingers crossed
As the dust settles, stockmarkets end August in remarkably good heart. Those who sold in May, in accordance with the old adage about going away and buying back after St Leger Day, are out of pocket.
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24/08/07 - Snakes and ladders
When is volatility not volatility? When stockmarkets are rising, it would seem.
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17/08/07 - I'll eat my hat
The price of hats will be up this month as replacements are bought for the ones eaten after the stunning fall in inflation.
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10/08/07 - Flying the flag
At long last the monopoly of London and major Scottish airports held by BAA is under threat. Spanish owner Ferrovial may yet regret stumping up £10bn to buy the UK company.
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03/08/07 - Storm clouds roll
The decision of the Bank of England to stick on interest rates was a beacon of stability among the stormy waters of the stock and credit markets.
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27/07/07 - Pennies and pounds
I read with some trepidation that a number of UK lenders have agreed to go to court in a test case to determine whether overdraft charges are excessive.
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20/07/07 - Might is right
Tony Blair, alleged admirer of Margaret Thatcher, has gone but his successor Gordon Brown has already scored one Thatherite achievement: the pound is back to its highest level for 26 years.
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13/07/07 - Sub prime saga
The US sub prime saga looks set to rumble on for some time yet, with a warning from Standard & Poor's earlier this week that it might downgrade $12bn sub-prime-related debt looking ominous.
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06/07/07 - Bully BT
Every job would be so much easier if it wasn't for the customers making a nuisance of themselves.
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29/06/07 - Thunder Bolt
The catalogue of disastrous overspends on large-scale programmes has claimed another victim in the form of Tube maintenance contractor Metronet. It sometimes seems that lessons are never learnt.
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25/06/07 - In the minority
So the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England recognise the need for early action on interest rates. It's a pity they are in a minority of four out of nine members.
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15/06/07 - Dutch standoff
The Dutch standoff over who will eventually gain control of ABN Amro is tilting remorselessly in favour of Royal Bank of Scotland, although Barclays shareholders may also be winners.
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08/06/07 - Pride and reticence
For sheer greed it is hard to beat the worthy directors of Cable & Wireless. At least, they think they are worthy. They think they are worth rather a lot.
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01/06/07 - Shanghai revisited
Shares have again tumbled in the Chinese financial capital but this time the effect has been considerably less dramatic than events at the end of February.
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25/05/07 - About turn
So the Bank of England really is getting tough on inflation - or at least it is talking tough.
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18/05/07 - Two is the target
We have, at last, the first real sign that interest rates are beginning to bite and I don't mean the fall in the rate of inflation, welcome though it was.
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11/05/07 - Surprise, surprise
What a week for surprises: Tony Blair says he is stepping down as prime minister, the Bank of England raises interest rates and men like to look at pictures of women.
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04/05/07 - A Browne study
The demise of BP chief executive Lord Browne over the past two years after what had been a glittering career is as sad as it has been dramatic.
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27/04/07 - Helping Hands
The barbarians are through the gates as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts becomes the first private equity house to buy one of the UK's top 100 companies. It will probably not be the last.
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20/04/07 - Rate rumble
It's all fun and games again on the interest rate front following the shock leap in inflation to 3.1%, more than a point above the government's 2% target.
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13/04/07 - Even curiouser....
Some interesting surveys have made the timing of the next rate hike a little more difficult to gauge.
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05/04/07 - Curiouser and curiouser
Interest rates remain on hold for another month at least, making it three in a row since the quarter point rise to 5.25p in January.
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30/03/07 - Two's company
There are some things you never expect to see, such as the opening of Wembley stadium or the last sale at DFS, but occasionally the unexpected can happen and it is not always pleasant.
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23/03/07 - Now you see it, now you don't
Not so much Joseph Stalin, more like Paul Daniels as Gordon Brown delivered his last (or is that also an illusion) Budget.
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16/03/07 - Sub-prime suspect
A businessman anxious to secure a bank loan once told me: 'There is only one way to persuade a bank to give you a loan and that is to demonstrate that you don't need it.'
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09/03/07 - Inside edge
Now here's a piece of inside information: there are insiders operating with the stockmarket and they are showing little sign of going away.
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02/03/07 - Shanghaied
The centre of the world is shifting from New York to Shanghai. If you refused to believe it before, the evidence was there this week in all its gory.
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23/02/07 - Banks and grouses
Twice a year the banks pop up to be shot at like grouse being beaten out of their cover. The appearance of Barclays had all guns blazing.
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16/02/07 - Are we sitting comfortably?
Inflation has fallen back sharply from its uncomfortably high level and the cycle of interest rates here and in the US seems to be peaking but the chances of a further UK rate rise soon remain high.
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09/02/07 - The case of the committee in the lunchtime
So, my dear Watson, what can we deduce from the decision of the Bank of England to leave interest rates unchanged at its February meeting?
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02/02/07 - New dawn for Corus
Your house is, ultimately, what someone else is prepared to pay for it. So is your company.
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26/01/07 - Another rates shock
Just as we were gearing ourselves for another rise in UK interest rates in February, hard on the heels of the widely unforecast January increase, it is all up in the air again.
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19/01/07 - Vive la difference
Anglo-French cooperation does not seem to work very well. No wonder the idea of a merger of the two nations has been kept hidden from public eyes for 50 years.
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12/01/07 - Back to reality
The post-Christmas hangover is with us and the price of over-indulgence is a quarter point rise in interest rates.
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05/01/07 - The flying Footsie
Good old Santa did not disappoint us and the Footsie ended 2006 at its highest level for nearly six years. But does the top index provide an accurate reflection of the state of the stockmarket?
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22/12/06 - No Scrooge at the inn
Although the market has run out of steam this week, we have enjoyed a Santa Claus rally and a further increase in interest rates is factored in. Have a merry Christmas.
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15/12/06 - Breaking up is hard to do
Another eagerly anticipated break up of a national newspaper group has come to nothing. Meanwhile advertising revenue for the print media continues to fall alarmingly.
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08/12/06 - Green Brown blues
Rarely can a Commons speech by a Chancellor of the Exchequer have been quite so depressing as the one by Gordon Brown this week.
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01/12/06 - Double dollar
Two dollars to the pound in January. If that sounds familiar, it is. It was what many commentators, including myself, were expecting two years ago. Now the cry goes up again.
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24/11/06 - Branson pickle
Is it because they need to be heard above the sound of their own aircraft that makes some airline chiefs feels they have to shout their mouths off?
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17/11/06 - The good, the bad and the ugly
Three banking stories popped up this week, each casting a different reflection on the financial brains who shape our lives.
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10/11/06 - Thump, thump
UK borrowers and George Bush had one thing in common this week: they got a thumping.
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03/11/06 - American pie
Opinion polls and political pundits suggest that we may well have a lame duck president next week as the Republicans face up to the possibility of losing control of both halves of Congress.
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27/10/06 - Think again
What strange political circumstances we live in. Apparently no party leader wants to cut taxes.
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20/10/06 - The hawks move in
We now have a clearer picture where we stand on interest rates, not just for the coming month but for the medium term future.
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13/10/06 - In the mood
If Kim Jong-il hoped to make a lasting impression on the world stage this week with the explosion of a nuclear device he must have been disappointed with the short-lived outrage.
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06/10/06 - Come in quietly
This is the quiet period between the June first half announcements and the September first halves. So why is so much happening?
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29/09/06 - Floating on air
Conflicting signals are coming from world markets and it is particularly disconcerting to see a stockmarket flotation pulled. Investing is never dull.
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22/09/06 - It's foolish but it's fun
You don't have to be mad to invest in smaller companies - but it can help.
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15/09/06 - Read all about it
We in London have witnessed the start of an evening newspaper war that threatens to be every bit as vicious as the one that bled Robert Maxwell dry.
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08/09/06 - Future imperfect
Events surrounding the apparently impending demise of Prime Minister Tony Blair demonstrate how history repeats itself, but usually in a different form.
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01/09/06 - A test of confidence
Have you ever wondered what consumer confidence actually is? It is a term that is so heavily bandied about yet it has no tangible meaning.
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25/08/06 - Hike Surprise
Markets and the general public were taken unawares by the quarter point increase in UK rates to 4.75% earlier this month, City economists much less so.
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18/08/06 - As normal as it gets
It has taken a full week, but some semblance of normality has returned to our airports. The surprise is that disruption was not worse.
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11/08/06 - A few points of interest
While the UK interest rate rise was a shock to most of us, markets were torn both ways on whether the Fed would stick another quarter point on US rates or leave them alone..
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04/08/06 - A nasty surprise
Oh dear. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, up pops the Monetary Policy Committee showing its teeth and taking a sharp bite out of the economy. Ouch!
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28/07/06 - On the run
Market runs, like skirts, come in different lengths. There are runs, mini runs and micro runs.
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21/07/06 - Hedge Your Bets
Last week bankers, this week gamblers.
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14/07/06 - It could be you
Kindly fill your own name in the blank spaces below. Only then will you realise the serious implications for every citizen of the UK of what has happened this week. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
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07/07/06 - Matalan in a mess
Let us take a clean sheet of paper and set down some of the prime bugbears that really aggravate investors
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03/07/06 - What might have been
Picking winners in a cup competition is a good deal more tricky than choosing shares, since one bad performance or one moment of brilliance can wreck the best laid plans.
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30/06/06 - Rate rumble
The US Federal Bank increased rates to 5.25% yesterday with its 17th consecutive quarter point hike, putting the US overnight bank lending rate at its highest since January 2001.
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23/06/06 - All fall
A curious decision was taken this week by a group of investors I know...
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21/06/06 - World Cup wobbles
The first two World Cup groups have produced the requisite leaders but while Germany get into their stride the prospects for England are deteriorating.
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19/06/06 - World Cup revisited
Of all the obstacles in the way of my prediction of a Germany v England final, I little thought that Ecuador would provide the first one.
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16/06/06 - All fall down
Wall to wall football cannot hide the serious worries about inflation that have taken hold around the world. This could be a long debilitating summer.
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12/06/06 - More dream than nightmare
It was not exactly a dream start for England at the World Cup but neither was it a nightmare. My forecast of England v Germany in the final remains a reality.
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09/06/06 - A kick in the markets
If you don't want to know that England are playing in the football World Cup starting this weekend, look away now.
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01/06/06 - Bargain basement
Two simmering takeover situations burst into life this week in dramatically different ways.
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25/05/06 - Not raining, just pouring
The banks of rain clouds that keep drifting across Britain are a reminder of many things...
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18/05/06 - Paradise lost
Will it be a bloodbath, I was asked on Monday evening.
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11/05/06 - Bitter pills
The chickens are coming home to roost. Perhaps that should read guinea pigs, but this is not a subject for cheap jokes. Someone could get killed.
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08/05/06 - In your debt
Debt has become a fashion statement.
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28/04/06 - There'll be another job along in a minute
News, even more than London buses, travels in bunches. You get one story of a dog attacking a child and suddenly it's happening every day. Then you hear nothing on the subject for years.
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21/04/06 - Spring is sprung
Easter has come and gone, if a little late this year, so it must be spring, a time for renewal, hope and optimism.
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07/04/06 - If you can't join 'em, beat 'em
Clara Furse is clearly a survivor. If she were shipwrecked on a desert island one of her eight gramophone records would surely be "I will survive".
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31/03/06 - Business as usual
Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose ... as the French put it so succinctly, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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24/03/06 - Make way for Gordon
Since the Budget speech lasted only one minute over an hour, which is pretty short shrift for a Chancellor, it is reasonable to assume that it did not amount to much and you would be right.
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17/03/06 - Feeling the squeeze
Those wicked supermarkets, destroyers of High Streets and slashers of quality in food, are once again under investigation.
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10/03/06 - So you want to be a millionaire
I decided to take a look at some serious money this week. I attended a recording of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? at Elstree studios.
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03/03/06 - Some like it cool
Minutes of the Bank of England's rate setting committee suggest that we will have to wait longer than we thought before the next move downwards.
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