The times of wage containment are beginning to be left behind in Spain. The ILO and the OECD themselves favoured an increase in the minimum wage, basing itself on the slight improvement in productivity over the last two years, but the first question is whether the proposed increase in the minimum wage is possible.
Atul Singh | How much value have technological advances created? On one side are internet bears who point out that productivity has been falling and the internet is not a big a deal. On the other side are internet bulls who argue that the internet has unleashed a new wave of productivity that is not captured by current measures accurately.
Investors and the authorities have learnt the lessons from the collapse of the investment bank, but we could be looking in the wrong direction when looking for the next turbulence, according to Paras Anand, Director General of Asset Management for the Asia Pacific in Fidelity.
The sudden finding last week that Deutsche Bank’s operations in the US would need to be cut back as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was worried about the bank’s local funds is disastrous news. The situation does not allow for a recapitulation of some kind.
Weaker balance sheets are not very attractive…From time time, we check out whether the “junk,” as defined by a non-investment grade credit rating, is a good investment. At the moment, it doesn’t seem to be.
In response to the US tariffs on Chinese exports worth USD 50 billion, it threatened to impose levies of 25% on a range of US goods worth about the same amount, including soybeans. The US is one of two world’s largest sellers of soybeans, together with Brazil. China is the world’s dominant buyer, accounting for more than 60% of all imports
Just a couple of years ago, deflation was a concern for US economists. And, although it’s true that this threat has almost disappeared, rises in prices have shown themselves to be surprisingly elusive.
By Leng Cheng, Gabriel Crossley, Wu Hongyuran and Peng Qinqin via Caixin | Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), has been named the new head of the central bank, succeeding Zhou Xiaochuan, who has retired after more than 15 years in the post — the longest in the PBOC’s history.
Spanish pensioners are on the brink of war. The group which has been the support for families during the 10 years of crisis, and has saved the country from social conflict, received a letter from the Labour Minister, Fátima Bañez, at the beginning of the year. Despite the fact CPI is now over 1.5%, she said she was maintaining the 0.25% increase in the pensions.