World economy

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Bernanke despises inflation horror tales

Will inflation rise in the US? That is the expectation of investors. Is it due to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy? You bet. But, economist Luis Arroyo concludes, eggs end up broken when making an omelette. Or when a central bank stimulates employment.




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Milking the wealthy the British way

LONDON | Law-abiding citizens are happy, the government boasts about it and fiscal fairness rule over the land. But what does a £500-million extra tax bill collected from the wealthiest since 2009 says about the UK?


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Fed’s meeting and ruling on ESM, crucial rendez-vous

Morning! There’s a lot of event risk this week. Among things investors will be looking up are the Federal Reserve’s meeting and German Constitutional Court ruling about the legality of the European Stability Mechanism. It’s not that the court will rule against the ESM, but it could attach conditions that would make it react slowlier. “Investors are likely to keep focusing on the ECB’s plan as a roadmap, which it’s…


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Drought’s billionaire impact

Food prices have spiked so high in August that many people around the developing world are having troubles to feed themselves. In the U.S. meat has become a luxury for many and the Department of Agriculture expects beef and veal prices to rise as much as 4.5 percent this year, and as much as 5 percent in 2013. Livestock farmers are hurting and the pork industry is losing millions. The…


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China, alone in the dark

BEIJING | The world was confident about China. She was expected to be the engine of growth of the world economy. The remedy against the bitterness that surrounds Western markets. The fear of a hard landing is part of the subconscious of many experts but there is still confidence that the second world’s economy will manage to land softly. Opinions are divided: Pessimists predict a greater slowdown within the following months….


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How Americans use their free time

Having breakfast, going to the office, running some errands, fixing dinner… routine looks pretty much the same in all developed countries. In the U.S. there is an interesting study (the American Time Use Survey) conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics about what people do in their typical working day. It measures the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socializing. It’s…


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China urges Europe to work on its debt

China is willing to help, but everyone has limits. Premier Wen Jiabao told visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a state visit in Beijing on Thursday that Beijing plans to continue buying European sovereign debt, the strongest sign of support for its biggest trading partner in months, although it urged further measures to be taken. “The European debt crisis has continued to worsen, giving rise to serious concerns in the…


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Eurozone recovery signs (Barclays)

By Tania Suárez, Madrid | European markets suffered form a slight contraction on Wednesday whereas the U.S. stood firm, not influenced by the European weakness nor the consumer confidence data and the Richmond. Barclays team suggest that money supply data meant both good news and bad news. Good ones first: “The trend in Europe is to raise liquidity, and usually (not always), that is associated with an economic recovery.” According…