Economics & Markets

The outlook for 2016

The outlook for 2016

4 mins. to read

The economy is not the same thing as the stock market and its profits. However, a strong share market with increasing profits is dependent on a growing economy. The former of course tends to discount the latter. That is pretty much where we are now. The share market discounting economic growth has been driven to…

Is Brazil set to recover?

Is Brazil set to recover?

6 mins. to read

Just a few years ago Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the so-called BRICS were a top performing block among the emerging markets class, such that they deserved to be treated separately from the others. But the recent international developments have shown that this group is far from being homogeneous, as its constituents are…

The Star in the East

The Star in the East

5 mins. to read

As Mr Cameron sits down to Christmas lunch at Chequers this year he will try to put aside his feelings of foreboding about the year ahead. On a personal level, I certainly hope that he enjoys a restful and happy day with his family. He has, it is said, like Napoleon, an uncanny ability to…

The Swedish residential property time bomb

The Swedish residential property time bomb

11 mins. to read

As seen in this month’s Master Investor Magazine. Property prices have been on the uptack during recent years and have accelerated over the last few in particular. An apartment in the most expensive area of London averages an astounding £11,600 per square metre while the average for the whole London region is still a respectable…

Why the FED may struggle to implement its policy rate

Why the FED may struggle to implement its policy rate

7 mins. to read

With the FED hiking its key benchmark rate one should expect interest rates to start rising across the yield curve. Liquidity conditions will tighten and the FED’s balance sheet is going to shrink as well. Hmmm, not so fast! The FED has two trillion problems still to solve, as its monetary policy framework is years…

The FED’s new cycle is already rotten

The FED’s new cycle is already rotten

6 mins. to read

So, they finally did it! The FED has just announced the first rate hike in almost a decade. Investors have reacted very positively so far… but will the enthusiasm last? There’s no fundamental reason to think it will, as the risks that accumulated during the ZIRP-era will now weigh on the US economy. Yesterday, Janet…

Top 3 crowdfinance predictions for 2016

Top 3 crowdfinance predictions for 2016

1 mins. to read

By Dom Wolf, Co-founder of investUP – the crowdfunding supermarket To nobody’s surprise, the exciting predictions for the world of crowdfunding in 2015 were not entirely wrong. In fact, most of them were entirely right. So have an early Christmas present, wonderful followers of all things crowdfinance. 2016 is going to be BIG. You heard…

India Online: Update

India Online: Update

4 mins. to read

At the end of October, further to a trip to India, I wrote a piece on these pages entitled India Online. There, and in my longer piece on investment opportunities in India in the November edition of the Master Investor magazine (India Faces the Future with Confidence), I argued that the potential for online commerce…

Airport Wars: Indeterminate Delay

Airport Wars: Indeterminate Delay

3 mins. to read

Back in September I wrote a piece for these pages (Airport Wars: Heathrow versus Gatwick) in which I explained why a third runway at Heathrow is the best outcome for the British economy but that this decision is politically fraught. I am not going to recycle the contents of that piece here but, in a…

A review of crowdfinance in 2015

A review of crowdfinance in 2015

2 mins. to read

By Dom Wolf, Co-founder of investUP – the crowdfunding supermarket A year goes quick, doesn’t it? Before you know it I’ll be dusting off the crystal ball and attempting to offer wisdom to predict the top trends in to watch NEXT year. But before we do that, I thought I’d take a look at how…