U.S. elections: lessons from the past
The US elections are surrounded by more uncertainty that ever before, and most of it comes from the Republican candidate. Mr Romney’s economic policies are an unknown-unknown.
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The United States’ necessary leadership
By CaixaBank analysts, in Barcelona | The United States grows by 2.3% year-on-year, but the weakness in employment and fiscal adjustment force a third round of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve.
US stocks: too high for their own good
Analysts at Barclays pointed at the already noticeable slow down in company investment to alert about future job creation data. The US could be in for a nasty surprise: something to do with the “fiscal cliff”.
U.S. elections debates: Biden levels playfield for Obama
Vice president Joe Biden’s performance was too aggressive, according to most analysts, but fared better among voters that a mild-mannered president Barack Obama. The second US election debate put pressure back on the Republicans’ team.
Obama wins his first vote from Bernanke
Two months before the US general elections, the Federal Reserve activates a package of expansionary monetary policy that will artificially inject life into the US economy. Carlos Díaz sees this is a vote for Obama.
The US: a country of financially illiterate investors
WASHINGTON | A troublesome unknown-unknown: how unaware are US investors of their illiteracy in financial matters? Rumsfeld, Iraq and the capital markets have something very obscure in common, says Pablo Pardo.
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…
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…
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…
Reading the tea leaves of Apple-Samsung’s battle
Apple-Samsung war is far from over. Steve Job’s company got what it wanted from the jury -more than $1 billion- but it’s still fighting to get a ban on eight models of the South Korean company’s smartphones, including its Galaxy S devices. This is how the two giants, which once played as friendly competitors, have reacted: Apple: “The mountain of evidence presented during the trail showed that Samsung’s copying went…