Last night, I went to the Hilton in Park Lane, London, to listen to an interview conducted by Jon (yes, that’s the way it is spelt – very liberal, trendy) Snow and Elon Musk. Elon Musk, as readers know, is the polymath founder of PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX, and in his spare time came up…
When I woke up today I was shocked by the news that the BOJ had cut its benchmark rate to -0.1% overnight. At a time when the FED is fighting to normalise its policy and the ECB is entertaining investors to delay further QE, the BOJ decision comes as a major blow and a huge…
Drat! Had I arrived but one day earlier I could have heard both the ubiquitous Stephen Fry and superstar French economist Thomas Piketty. But they had already jetted out by the time I arrived, post-haste from my tour of Rajasthan. What’s more, there I was all geared up to hear Niall Ferguson this morning, when…
As seen in the January edition of Master Investor Magazine. We’re now at the beginning of the year: a time when investors, analysts, journalists, and politicians make a series of predictions for the year to come. Most of them will prove wrong, as the many interactions between all the variables involved make it impossible for…
The ECB has kept its key rates and asset purchasing programme unchanged while Mario Draghi promised investors there’s more to come in the near future. A dovish Draghi is keeping investors entertained while buying him some time to convince the other committee members to extend the current asset purchase programme. If he doesn’t deliver there…
The latest data published by Oxfam show a worrying increase in income inequality during just the last few years. Many believe this to be the consequence of the free market, and in response raise arguments in favour of policy intervention. I myself believe public intervention to be the cause, not the solution, as the global…
The Chancellor talked of a new, unwelcome economic cocktail the other week. His message was to warn us that the contents may not be good for our economic health and his own budgetary predictions. It was all a bit like an Agatha Christie ‘who dunnit?!’ Now trimmer and more elegant-looking (as a result of fasting…
As seen in the January edition of Master Investor Magazine. “My global outlook for 2016 is for broadly steady but slow growth – the new normal – but a nervous and skittish market over-reacting to news flow. My biggest threat for this year is a positive upside economic surprise – stronger than expected US growth!…
As seen in the January edition of Master Investor Magazine. 2016, The Year of the Monkey, will be a capricious, unusually nervous year, full of danger and foreboding, not just confined to the financial markets. As ever, nothing is foretold, and no outcome is inevitable. Most people have little concept of how much their lives…
Master Investor was given permission to re-publish this missive from Alan Steel of Alan Steel Asset Management. Alan will be speaking at Master Investor 2016 in what (judging from this article) promises to be a standout performance. Click HERE to book your complimentary free tickets using the discount code “MI2016”. “Under Pressure? Pressure pushing down…
