by Phillip Inman, economics correspondent on (#424P)
Government ministers are happy to perpetuate monetary policy committee mythology over interest rates as it takes the heat off themLike John Major’s early 1990s government, the Bank of England gives “the impression of being in office, but not in powerâ€. Former chancellor Norman Lamont’s analysis could just as easily be applied to Threadneedle Street today.Six years on from the financial crisis, governor Mark Carney and his colleagues are keen to give the impression that they can control events. Sadly, their big bazooka, the threat of an interest rate rise, is as powerful as a pop-gun. Continue reading...
We risk losing a lot more than our patience as tweets and cat videos put an end to long-termismDelayed gratification: it’s an important life skill we try to teach our children when they want that tooth-rotting treat right now. With good reason: the famous “marshmallow experiment†at Stanford University showed kids that chose to wait a few minutes and get two sweets, instead of gobbling up one immediately, were brighter and more successful more than a decade later.Yet in grown-up, economic life, patience has gone way out of fashion. Continue reading...
The general election campaign starts officially on 30 March, but the early skirmishes have already begun. Here, from the pink bus to new media and gaffes to opinion polls, is your indispensable guide to the words, thoughts and, not least, promises that will shape the political conversation over the next two months Continue reading...
Approval ratings for radical left party soar despite U-turns forced in debt talks and collapse of tax collection, but the people still expect the government to deliverAlexis Tsipras’ left-led government may be the bane of Europe’s political establishment, but in Greece support is soaring as Athens’ new political class negotiates the country’s economic plight.One month and three days after the tough-talking firebrand assumed power, Greeks of all political persuasions appear to like what they see. A Metron Analysis poll published on Saturday showed popularity ratings for the prime minister’s radical left Syriza party at an all-time high: from the almost 36% it won in snap polls on 25 January, support for Syriza has jumped to 47.6%, a record for a movement that only three years ago was on margins of Greek politics. Continue reading...
The Walmart effect and the example of certain London local councils has led to pay rises for many. But poverty wages elsewhere could be hard to shiftFfyona Dawber has given her four least well-paid staff a pay rise. She’s the managing director of Synergy Vision, a small medical communications company in north-west London. In return, Brent Council will now cut £500 off her rates bill.This is one of the ways in which local politicians are using every weapon at their disposal to try to tackle inequality, and as the jobs market picks up – and even David Cameron urges firms to pay their staff more – there is hope that a rising tide may start to lift the lowest-paid workers above the poverty line.“If there’s one thing Labour ought to be about, it’s dignity of work, and that’s what the living wage helps achieve.â€â€œWe hope we’ll get to a place where people will start to ask about pay and take it into account when they’re shopping.†Continue reading...
Both banks were bailed out at enormous cost to the taxpayer. Now one has turned things around while the other is still suffering. Jill Treanor explains whyThe contrast between bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland was thrown into sharp focus as the former paid out its first dividend since the banking crisis (and handed its boss an £11.5m pay deal) while the latter reported its seventh consecutive year of losses (and its boss waived his bonus).Why the difference? Because they started in different places. After their bailouts in 2008 and 2009, the taxpayer had a 43% stake in Lloyds and owned 81% of RBS. The government’s controlling stake in RBS made it an easier target for politicians at the outset. Continue reading...
by Antonio Negri and Raúl Sánchez Cedillo on (#3Y7G)
Greece is bravely laying a path towards a democratic Europe, one that is not dominated by the interests of capitalism or Nato“A spectre is haunting Europe†read a recent headline in the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto, announcing the round of meetings between the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, and his European counterparts. Just think of what would happen if Podemos wins in Spain: the spectre would turn into a monster, propelled by one of Europe’s largest economies. In a few weeks, campaigning will begin in Spain and no doubt the European governments will redouble their efforts to frighten Spanish citizens away from Podemos. But what can Podemos tell us about Europe?Since Syriza’s victory in Greece, Podemos’s position on Europe has been supportive of Syriza while prudently reserving its judgment. After all, Tsipras’s strategy could fail in the brief interval that remains until the Spanish elections. But prudency is not the same as ambiguity. Nothing would be more dangerous than an ambiguous position at this point, given the negotiations under way between Greece and Europe on the viability of the policies implemented by the troika until now. There are now two Europes and it is imperative to align with one or the other. Podemos supporters know that victory is only possible by joining a front already opened by Syriza, one that must expand throughout the EU. The politics of debt and sovereignty, and the Atlantic question are all issues that can only be tackled at a European level. Continue reading...
by Phillip Inman, economics correspondent on (#3X9K)
Treasury committee stops short of saying chancellor misled parliament by claiming he won the bill reduction when the surcharge was halved by the UK’s automatic rebateMPs have criticised George Osborne for exaggerating claims that he halved a £1.7bn surcharge imposed by Brussels last year when Britain’s rebate automatically cut the figure to £850m.A committee of MPs has stopped short of accusing the chancellor of misleading parliament, but said he should have known how the rebate applied before he boasted on TV and to MPs about his success at the negotiating table.The terms of the UK’s rebate calculation are set out in EU law. It should, therefore, have been clear it would apply.He has been caught out again and his credibility is further undermined. Continue reading...
by Phillip Inman, economics correspondent on (#3W23)
Strong consumer spending is all very well, but it masks the long-term problem of declining business investmentWhen coffee shops are among Britain’s retail stars, it’s not surprising that economists argue the merits of the cappuccino economy versus the flat white alternative.The latest GDP update shows that froth still dominates (the flat white reference being a nod to a tech/digital economy that has yet to gain ascendancy).Related: UK business investment falls at fastest rate since financial crisis Continue reading...
Drop of 1.4% in last quarter driven by energy companies reining in North Sea spending amid falling oil priceInvestment spending by UK businesses fell at the fastest rate in almost six years at the end of 2014 as energy companies responded to falling global oil prices.Business investment dropped by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics. The decrease was mainly driven by oil and gas companies reining in North Sea spending.Related: The UK's economy cannot run on coffee for ever Continue reading...
Scale of capital flight suggests newly elected Syriza government had to strike deal with eurozone partners over bailout to prevent full-blown bank runAnxious savers withdrew €12bn (£8.8bn) from Greece’s banks in January, underlining the desperate challenge facing Athens’ anti-austerity ministers during last week’s debt talks.Figures for February are not yet available from the European Central Bank, but the exodus is likely to have continued after the Syriza-led coalition came to power, and battled to secure a four-month extension on its €172bn bailout loan.Related: Greek bailout: Germany warns Athens must stick to pledges - live updates Continue reading...
Ross McEwan still expected to earn £2.7m despite declining the ‘role-based’ payment which has become a common means of sidestepping bonus capsThe chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has said he will hand back £1m of his annual pay package.Ross McEwan told the bank’s board he did not want to receive the “role-based†shares incentive, which tops up his regular salary. He is still expected to be paid £2.7m despite turning down the award. Continue reading...
Stuart Gulliver has apologised following the revelations that its Swiss operation helped wealthy clients dodge tax. MPs have also questioned HM Revenue and Customs.
Benign disinflation means rising real incomes for lenders, pensioners, and workers - but ‘bad deflation’ means an increase in the real burden of debtIn 1923, John Maynard Keynes addressed a fundamental economic question that remains valid today. “[I]nflation is unjust and deflation is inexpedient,†he wrote. “Of the two perhaps deflation is … the worse; because it is worse…to provoke unemployment than to disappoint the rentier. But it is not necessary that we should weigh one evil against the other.â€The logic of the argument seems irrefutable. Because many contracts are “sticky†(that is, not easily revised) in monetary terms, inflation and deflation would both inflict damage on the economy. Rising prices reduce the value of savings and pensions, while falling prices reduce profit expectations, encourage hoarding, and increase the real burden of debt. Continue reading...
The number of people employed on zero-hours contracts reached 697,000 in the fourth quarter of 2014. See the characteristics of people employed on zero-hours contracts in four chartsNew estimates show that the number of people employed on zero-hours contracts reached 697,000 in the fourth quarter of 2014, up from 586,000 during the same period a year earlier.The figures, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), are an estimate of people who are employed on zero hours contracts in their main employment, and come from the Labour Force Survey. By the end of 2014, the total number of people employed on zero hours contracts represented 2.3% of total in employment - up on the previous year when the figure stood at 1.9%. In its release, the ONS note that it is “not possible to say how much of this increase is due to greater recognition of the term ‘zero-hours contracts’ rather than new contracts.†Continue reading...
New Economics Foundation says 79% taxpayer stake in bailed-out bank should be used to create 130 locally run banks, boosting GDP by £38bnRoyal Bank of Scotland could be broken up into 130 locally run banks and operated along the principle of the John Lewis Partnership rather than be privatised by the next government, according to a report published on Wednesday.In an attempt to reopen the debate about the future of the bank as it prepares to publish its 2014 results on Thursday, the New Economics Foundation argues that carving out local banks would bolster GDP and be more beneficial than using the proceeds of any sale of the stake to cut the national debt. Continue reading...
The idea that zero-hours contracts somehow benefit staff is undermined by the fact so many people on them wish they weren’tZero-hours contracts are the ultimate expression of Britain’s “flexible†labour market. Deregulate the workforce, free up firms to hire and fire, and they will be less burdened by fixed costs, leaner and more competitive – and create more jobs. So went the post-Thatcherite consensus.
Shares in Britain’s top companies pass high set at height of dotcom boom as Athens secures lifeline and belief grows about UK recovery gaining momentumLondon’s stock market has hit a record high, breaking through the levels set at the height of the dotcom boom on relief that debt-laden Greece had secured a lifeline from its creditors and increasing belief that the UK’s economic recovery is gaining momentum.After months of testing the previous record 6950 point mark – which was reached on the final trading day in December 1999 – the FTSE-100 index of the biggest companies on the London stock market hit 6959 on Tuesday. It closed at 6949, well above the previous closing record of 6930 – the level at which the benchmark index ended the 20th century.Related: FTSE 100 hits record high - timeline Continue reading...
Poll for CBI finds that most consumers believe firms abuse their trust and sacrifice loyalty for a quick returnConsumers believe businesses put profits before staff wellbeing and customer service, according to a poll for the CBI.The business lobby group said the word profit was used “like a dirty word†by a majority of consumers, who believe businesses abuse their trust and sacrifice loyalty for a quick return. It said the results should persuade companies to be more transparent about how they generated profits. Continue reading...
European trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström says that limiting the scope of the investor-state dispute settlement system in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will be difficult (US firms will not use secret corporate courts to muscle in on NHS contracts, says EU trade chief, 20 February). She is apparently tinkering with it to try to exclude publicly funded health services, but there are clearly doubts about the effectiveness of this tinkering. Why cannot she see that the simple answer is to remove this secretive ISDS court system from the treaty? Both the US and the EU have robust, transparent legal systems with courts at various levels such as state, national, federal and EU, with proper avenues for appeal. If companies think they have a case against governments, let them use these courts.Who can predict what actions a government may need to take in the future that might impinge of the profits of investors? Continue reading...
For the sake not just of Greece but the whole eurozone, Germany must overcome its historic horror of inflation and embrace fiscal expansionIn the movie All the President’s Men, the advice of Deep Throat, the reporters’ source, was “follow the money†– a great idea for tracking corruption, but hopeless as a guide to global macroeconomics. In the Greek crisis everyone is focusing on the money, but it is trade that matters. Until Greece can generate an export surplus it cannot pay its debts, and it cannot run an export surplus until others run deficits. But this is precisely what German policy is preventing the Greeks (and all the other deficit countries) from achieving. The OECD estimates that the German current account surplus in 2015 will be more than 7% of GDP.Every international macroeconomist knows that this surplus can only be corrected by a mixture of expenditure expansion, via fiscal policy, and expenditure switching, via a change in the real exchange rate. Germany will countenance neither. It will not inflate to reduce competitiveness; and even with an internal budget surplus of some 8% of GDP it will not loosen fiscal policy. What has been far too little under discussion is “why not?â€.Related: Eurozone ministers approve Greek bailout extension - live updatesMerkel remarked: 'It doesn’t sound so good in German'. Why not? Because the German word for 'debt' also means 'guilt' Continue reading...
Failing? On the contrary, argues Rolf Nieuwenkamp, chair of the OECD working party on responsible business conduct, we’re getting better at holding businesses to account
Anti-austerity programme of new prime minister Alexis Tsipras depends on collecting billions in unpaid revenuesThe new government of Greece, led by Alexis Tsipras, has promised to tackle tax evasion. It hopes this strategy will yield €3bn ($3.4bn) in the coming months in order to cover part of the cost of its €12bn Thessaloniki anti-austerity programme. This would entail various measures – a gradual increase in the minimum wage to reach €750, an extra month’s income for pensioners receiving less than €700 a month, and various welfare benefits – to help the most vulnerable members of the community.“If this government thinks it can change the system in a few weeks it is underestimating how complicated it is to collect tax in Greece,†says Haris Theoharis, narrowly elected to parliament for the centrist To Potami party. Between January 2013 and June 2014 he was secretary general for public revenue, a job imposed on the then conservative New Democracy government by the country’s creditors, increasingly irritated by slow progress against fraud and tax dodging. Continue reading...
Leading economic thinktank says UK’s failure to raise output per worker since the downturn has held back wages and well-beingBritain must fix its productivity problem to secure future economic growth and improve living standards, a leading thinktank has warned as it highlights a failure to grow output per UK worker since the downturn.The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has also downgraded its outlook for the UK this year but still sees it enjoying one of the fastest growth rates among advanced economies. Growth in 2015 is now projected to be 2.6%, matching last year’s pace but down from a forecast for 2.7% made in November. The 2016 forecast remains at 2.5% GDP growth.Weak labour productivity since 2007 has been holding back real wages and well-being. The sustainability of economic expansion and further progress in living standards rest on boosting productivity growth, which is a key challenge for the coming years,†says the OECD report, to be launched at a news conference with chancellor George Osborne on Tuesday morning.Income and wealth are below the G7 average and real earnings have been exceptionally weak as they have continued to reflect poor productivity,†its report into the UK says.Developing a knowledge-based economy, strengthening infrastructure investment and improving the financing of the economy are all critical in this regard,†the thinktank adds.Weak export performance and productivity could be driven by infrastructure weaknesses and difficult access to bank finance, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), holding back the emergence of new firms and high-skilled jobs.â€In addition, house prices have increased rapidly and may create risks to financial stability in the case of a downward adjustment.â€The chancellor will likely welcome the OECD’s comments on his austerity programme. The Paris-based thinktank notes the budget deficit has been “significantly reduced since the peak of 2009, but at a slower pace recently notably as growth has been insufficiently tax-rich.â€
Rate-setter Kristin Forbes says rise in borrowing costs is inevitable if signs of asset bubbles emerge or household debt rises sharplyThe Bank of England is prepared to raise interest rates “in the near future†if inflation picks up, one of its senior policymakers has warned.Kristin Forbes, a member of the Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC), said a rise in borrowing costs would also be necessary should signs of asset bubbles emerge or household debt reaches unhealthy levels. Continue reading...
by Phillip Inman, economics correspondent on (#3Q2F)
A combination of extra production and hoarding will keep lower petrol prices at the pumps for a little while longerAfter a mini rally, oil prices are falling again. From $62 a barrel 10 days ago, Brent crude has slipped to $58.43 on Tuesday.It may not seem like much of a cut after the collapse in world oil prices that sent Brent tumbling from $115 to $45 a barrel between last June and January, but it is still significant. Continue reading...
Managing director of the International Monetary Fund says too many countries still restrict the right of women to contribute to their economiesNations should remove laws that prevent women from working in order to increase the female labour supply and boost their economies, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has said.“In too many countries, too many legal restrictions conspire against women to be economically active,†Lagarde wrote in a blog. “In a world in search of growth, women will help find it, if they face a level playing field instead of an insidious conspiracy.†Continue reading...
by Ian Traynor in Brussels and Helena Smith in Athens on (#3N96)
Six-page blueprint aimed at appeasing eurozone creditors expected to be endorsed by finance ministersGreece’s new leftwing government has moved to head off insolvency and a run on the banks by submitting a menu of structural economic reforms to Brussels aimed at appeasing its eurozone creditors and securing a four-month bailout lifeline.
As January sales end, retailers struggle to keep shoppers spending this month, CBI saysBritish retailers suffered a sharp slowdown this month with business falling at supermarkets and department stores as January sales drew to a close, according to a business survey.The latest snapshot of retailers from business group, the CBI, showed sales barely rose on a year ago, a much worse performance than City economists and retailers themselves had been expecting. Echoing other signs of pressure on retailers as they resort to discounting to attract consumers, the survey showed prices and headcount falling.After a strong start to the year, retailers were disappointed by the unexpected halt in sales growth. In particular, continually heavy discounting in the grocers sector seems to be weighing on activity.Looking ahead, the outlook for the retail sector is fairly positive, with the boost to household incomes from falling inflation likely to support spending ... However, as this survey shows, overall trading conditions on the high street remain challenging.â€There is no getting away from the fact that CBI’s distributive trades survey for February is substantially weaker than expected. Even so, we suspect it is primarily a case of consumers taking a breather after spending at a robust rate through the fourth quarter...Despite the disappointing February CBI survey, the prospects for retail sales and consumer spending overall for 2015 still look largely bright. Households purchasing power is currently getting a double leg up from extremely low inflation as well as rising earnings growth. And there should be more improvement in purchasing power to come over the coming months, along with further rises in employment.†Continue reading...
Crackdown on tycoons and the smuggling industry is part of fiscal reforms to be presented to creditors on Monday, German tabloid Bild saysAnalysis: why Greece has its work cut outGreece has drawn up a €7.3bn tax hit list aimed at the country’s oligarchs and lucrative smuggling industry, a German newspaper said, as part of reform proposals due to its creditors.European finance ministers on Friday gave Athens just over three days to draw up a list acceptable to its international creditors in exchange for a four-month extension of its debt bailout.Related: Greece scrambles to finalise fiscal reform list Continue reading...
Introducing a parallel currency would create money and delay Greece’s inevitable financial default. But the strategy will only work if investors believe the country won’t collapseThere’s almost no upside to a eurocrisis. You become part of a rolling maul of politicians, journalists and economists ripping and gouging at each other, both in private and on Twitter. The only advantage of being there is that it forces you to think laterally about money. Soon – if the Greek crisis is not resolved – one of the most audacious pieces of lateral thinking ever could get a try-out: a parallel digital currency, issued by the Greek government, modelled on Bitcoin, but with a crucial difference.Related: The Guardian view on the Greek debt deal: victory or defeat? | Editorial Continue reading...
The chancellor cheers at his failure to deliver his stated ambition of price rises of 2%. That must surely mean that it’s time to change the targetAs polling day nears, we can look forward to a dismal burst of politics as archery. Ministers will brag about bullseyes hit (2m apprenticeships), the opposition will seize on arrows that have veered off course (immigration, the deficit) and wise commentators will explain how the obsession with targets produces all sorts of perversities.Last week, however, when things went wildly off course in relation to the most important target of the lot, we got a topsy-turvy reaction. Instead of popping up with sheepish excuses, the government’s top brass bugled news of their big miss to anyone who would listen. The target is for an inflation rate of 2.0%, with a percentage point miss in either direction being taken so seriously that the governor of the Bank of England has to pick up his pen and explain to the chancellor what’s going on. An undershoot is, very explicitly, formally regarded as “just as bad as inflation above the targetâ€, and so when the January number came in at 0.3% then that represents – surely – a serious misstep.Inflation matters, not only as an imperfect gauge of the industrial mood but also in its own right Continue reading...
The Syriza-led government in Athens has until late Monday night to come up with a list of structural reforms such as deregulation and anti-tax evasion measuresHaving clinched an outline agreement to extend Greece’s bailout by four months in crunch talks in Brussels on Friday, Athens now has its work cut out.Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and prime minister Alexis Tsipras have until Monday night to come up with a list of proposed structural reforms that will then be scrutinised by international creditors – the troika of the European Central Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.Related: Greek government races to meet Monday fiscal reform deadline Continue reading...
Five centuries may have passed but Cromwell’s Tudor times offer some remarkable parallels with the economic plight of Britain todayHe works all hours, first up and last to bed. He makes money and he spends it. He will take a bet on anything. A description of a foreign exchange dealer taking big punts in the City? No, think again for this is Hilary Mantel’s description of Thomas Cromwell.The TV adaptation of Wolf Hall ends this week with the fall of Anne Boleyn. Throughout the six episodes, the focus has been on the political themes addressed in the book: Henry VIII’s determination to have a male heir, who’s up and who’s down at court, the break with the Pope over the king’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Continue reading...
Minister of state Nikos Pappas said the government was drafting list of reforms including making the civil service more effective and laws to combat tax evasionGreek government officials are racing to complete a list of reform proposals that will be scrutinised by the country’s international creditors this week as Athens seeks an extension to its €240bn (£177bn) bailout.
An unbelievably convenient boost to demand in Britain has come in the nick of electoral time for the ConservativesWhen it comes to the economy, the prime minister and chancellor are enjoying the luck of the devil. After the financial crisis struck in 2007-09, they opposed the Keynesian measures necessary to avert a 1930s-style great depression; and when they assumed the reins of office in 2010 they made misleading comparisons between the state of the British economy and that of Greece and introduced wholly unnecessary “austerity†measures.These latter not only stopped the burgeoning economic recovery in its tracks: they sapped the animal spirits of entrepreneurs and wrecked any hope of the boost to confidence they were supposed to encourage. There followed several years of “flatlining†and missed investment opportunities in the public and private sectors.Instead of counteracting the weakness in demand, the coalition took measures to aggravate it. I am not making this up Continue reading...
Without the single currency and bailouts, Greek, Irish and Portuguese banking systems would have collapsed. Anti-Europeans should acknowledge thisWolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister, says that the radical left party Syriza will have some difficulty selling what is seen in some circles as Greek climbdown during Friday’s cliffhanger negotiations that tried to put an to end austerity. Elected on an impossible mandate to renegotiate the country’s tough bailout terms and stay in the euro, Syriza now finds itself recommitting to austerity as the price of getting crucial loans extended for four months. Without them, Greek banks would have collapsed. Mr Schäuble seems almost happy that the tieless Syriza leaders, shamelessly talking about reparations for the second world war, have had to confront “realityâ€.Meanwhile Britain’s army of Eurosceptics have had a field day. If the negotiations had gone wrong, as many predicted, and Greece went on to leave the euro and restore the drachma then it would be the best vindication yet that Eurosceptic Britain was right. The eurozone, already accused of being the single most important, if not the only cause of Europe’s economic plight, would be exposed as teetering on collapse. And if instead Greece managed some compromise deal, then it would be a slap in the face for democracy. Greek voters would have been denied what they had voted for. The EU stands accused, variously, of denying democracy and tethering a country to self-defeating austerity. Continue reading...
Tackling global warming is not just a global responsibility, argues the leader of the Labour party, it’s an economic necessity for BritainThe general election means 2015 is a critical year for Britain. It is also a critical year for the world on climate change. Within months of Britain voting, the UN is holding a summit in Paris to agree a binding global agreement to tackle climate change.But there is a real danger that this great chance to achieve action is going to slip by, without the world even noticing. That might suit some politicians at home but it will be a disaster for our country and the world.Climate change has never been just an environmental issue. It affects the economy, migration and living standards too Continue reading...
Prime minister says his anti-austerity government now faces its toughest work, in first public reaction since deal made to extend bailout for four monthsThe Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has said the country has won a significant battle but has yet to win the war, in his first public reaction to the latest deal to keep the debt-stricken nation financially afloat.Addressing Greeks less than 12 hours after the agreement was sealed at an emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels, the leftist leader said the hardest work now lay before his anti-austerity government. Continue reading...
Alexis Tsipras and Yanis Varoufakis could have threatened the eurozone with default. Instead, they showed their hand early – and the troika is still in chargeGerman officials chose a suitably Greek metaphor last week as they rejected the anti-austerity Syriza government’s initial demands, accusing finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and his colleagues of wheeling out a “Trojan horseâ€.As the fraught talks played out, however, instead of an army of fearsome Greek warriors emerging at Varoufakis’s side, it appeared more like one weary foot-soldier, waving an enormous white flag.Debt forgiveness, much talked about during the campaign, seemed to be off the agenda Continue reading...
by Jennifer Rankin in Brussels and Helena Smith in At on (#3HPK)
Syriza’s ministers seem to have agreed bailout terms not very different from those they were elected to rejectAfter five years of living on the brink, Greeks have become inured to make-or-break crisis meetings in Brussels. Wrangling over the details of austerity plans is no longer enough to push irate demonstrators on to the streets of Athens in protest – even if the leftist-led government has done little else since it was catapulted into power three weeks ago.Instead, the Greek capital’s boulevards were buzzing all through last week. On Sunday, as Syriza’s outspoken finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, prepared to confront his eurozone paymasters for the first time, thousands thronged central Syntagma Square imploring the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – the bodies that have kept their bankrupt nation afloat – to “give Greece a chanceâ€.“Greece has always managed to hold its head high. I think people will respect us, and fear us a little, after this.†Continue reading...
Savers should be prepared to step outside their comfort zone to beat low interest ratesCompanies around the world paid out a record $1.17tn in dividend income during 2015. The figures, published by Henderson Global Investors, highlight an important point for investors: while interest rates remain stuck at historic lows, income seekers who are prepared to take at least some risk with their capital can do far better.Henderson’s analysis shows the UK was one of the world’s best performers last year for dividends, with total payouts up 31% to $135bn. And globally, the stock market has been delivering higher payouts for five years now: total dividend income was 60% higher in 2014 than in 2009. Continue reading...
