I was interested to see Shell’s chief executive, Wael Sawan, not rule out moving group headquarters and main stock market listing to the US. He referred to the warm welcome extended by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at a recent investors’ meeting, illustrated by the Shell flag flying alongside the NYSE flag; “they said…
Was it a surprise the U.S. debt ceiling was raised? Of course not; there was only going to be one ending to this theatrical stand off and Biden was always going to get his money. Of course, the real issue is when will the U.S. (and the Western world in general) get its house in…
Mmmm …… so Bank of England (B of E) governor, Andrew Bailey, admits there are “very big lessons to learn” in setting monetary policy after the B of E failed to a) foresee inflation on the horizon b) did nothing even when it was glaringly obvious problems were brewing c) believed it was all ‘transitory’…
The Bank of England raised base rate by another quarter of a point to 4.5%, representing the 12th consecutive increase and a damning indictment of its failure to conduct competent monetary policy. The 0.25% uplift emulated the actions of both the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank although their benchmark rates are now 5%…
For the second month in a row, UK CPI inflation has been worse than expected and currently stands in double digits. The Bank of England noted the path of inflation may be bumpier than expected in the short term but is likely to fall from thereon. We suspect it is correct but then, the Bank…
Eurozone inflation was slightly higher than anticipated in February but it was the increase in core inflation (excluding food and energy) that caught the eye. Now, one may conclude that food and energy, although volatile, are very much ‘core’ but leaving that argument aside, if the price of everything else is still rising (at a…
We live in a curious age. For all our mediums of instant communication, language increasingly obfuscates rather than enlightens. It seems people wish to be told what they want to hear rather than face reality. As for governments, now ever more manned/womaned/theyd by the incompetent, it’s a desire they are happy to comply with,…
Inflation looks to be moderating but the rate increases keep coming. The Federal Reserve increased U.S. rates by 0.25% to a range of 4.5% – 4.75% while the European Central Banks and Bank of England raised by 0.5% to 2.5% and 4.0%, respectively. All still have base borrowing costs meaningfully below their present rates of…
Increasingly, we live in a world of stupidity. I was recently watching the TV (now, a rare event) and the first advert at the commercial break was for a food delivery app. You know the kind of thing; junk food at the press of a button brought by a kid on a moped. The following…
Remember last year, central banks were often using the word ‘transitory’? It’s not a word we hear, now. 2022 was the year when the sheer incompetence of modern day central banking became all too obvious. Having held the cost of money at close to zero for well over a decade, economic reality crashed through the…