Investing in Europe in 2014, A Wise Choice?
Via Credit Suisse | This year will be remembered as a strong year for global equities. While prices are expected to continue rising in 2014, the odd bout of adjustment will provide opportunity.
World economy
Global recovery: The clock is ticking for risk assets
LONDON | Barclays analysts | The global recovery remained modest in 2013, inflation was somewhat lower than expected, and monetary policy in the developed countries became even more supportive. While these fundamentals would normally suggest that bonds would outperform stocks, the opposite occurred, and in a very big way: bond prices plunged and equity prices soared.
Bitcoin, The New Toy for Dummies
MADRID | By Luis Arroyo | Bitcoin is increasingly present everywhere: newspapers, books, all over the Internet… and everybody seems to be infatuated with this new currency. However, it isn’t as fabulous as they make us think. It’s tricky and it could endanger even more the already damaged global economies.
China: Courting Financial Innovation
BEIJING | By Wang Yong at Caixin | In China, the law on illegal fundraising keeps public deposits from fleeing their arranged marriage with state-owned banks, stifling fresh ideas in finance.
China’s biggest jeweler sees gold in the masses
HONG KONG | By Reuters | The world’s most valuable jewellery retailer Chow Tai Fook, which counts Cartier and Tiffany & Co as competitors, is on a quest to conquer the hearts of China’s future big spenders. Its weapons of choice: Hello Kitty and Winnie the Pooh.
Federalism: Not a United States of Europe, please!
AMSTERDAM | By Paul Scheffer at NRC Handelsblad via Presseurop | If the EU is to continue to exist, then its representatives will have to be clear about their ultimate objective. This should not be a federation of states, but a Union which sets its sights on further horizons, defends its diversity, puts an end to its expansion and establishes a legal basis for further integration, says academic Paul Scheffer writes. Excerpts.
Central Banks Saved the World Economy- Now What? (Credit Suisse)
Via Credit Suisse | Following the global financial crisis, major central banks have taken unprecedented policy actions in a bid to support the global economy and address short-term financial risks. In the following video, thought leaders from the Credit Suisse Research Institute discuss the use of these actions to attack crises, as well as the challenges associated with exiting these unconventional instruments in the coming years. [NOTE: The views expressed in this video are the interviewees’ own and do not necessarily reflect The Corner’s editorial policy].
Ukraine, the Decisive Pawn- And Why the EU Moved Away From the US
MADRID | By Luis Arroyo | The West is losing ground in the international arena: the United States’ credibility is damaged and Europe is so self-centered, focused in its own business that it has underestimated Russia. Now Ukraine is in the middle of a boiling debate between pro-Russians and pro-westerns and Putin won’t let the EU snatch the former soviet country.
Australia’s “Miracle Economy” Is Not Such a Miracle After All
SAO PAOLO | By Marcus Nunes | A hint of ‘Schadenfreud’; that´s what I gathered from this piece by James Glynn: “Australia’s “Miracle Economy” Running out of Tricks.”
Markets Doubt of Fed’s Tapering
MADRID | By Francisco López | The U.S. latest unemployment data, as well as the gold price collapse and the movements of the sovereign suggest the beginning of the gradual withdrawal of the assets purchase by the Federal Reserve may be imminent. However, stock markets are not just quite sure the Fed will decide to start tapering at its last meeting of the year, since some macro indicators show the recovery of the first economy of the planet is not strong enough.