Skewed view of cash raises questions.

FundWeb – Fund Strategy. , 5th December 2011 American companies hoard cash as a safety-net against falling margins. But superficial data gives a false picture of economic health – corporate spending needs to increase to aid recovery. The large amounts of...

The World Could Do Well, But….

Nikkei Veritas – Market Eye column, 27th July 2011 There has been a profound change in the world economy. From 1950 to around 1985, the developed and emerging worlds grew at a similar pace; since then the less developed countries have been catching up. Unless...

Watch out if Wall Street falters.

Financial News, a Dow Jones Company., 20th June 2011 I was recently having a convivial lunch with a group of economists and journalists and found that there was a consensus that the next year looked alright for economies and markets, but thereafter the outlook was...

What should the IMF, ECB and EC do about Greece?

Economics – by invitation [Economist.com], 6th June 2011 Attempts to postpone Greek default seem sensible OPINIONS obviously differ as to whether Greece will and should default, but there must be a high risk that it will and it seems generally agreed that this...

Tricky route to a soft landing.

Financial World, 1st June 2011 China’s rise in inflation shows that problems with its growth rate are becoming acute, says Andrew Smithers. China causes a great deal of well justified worry. It is very large, growing very fast and pursues a disruptive policy of...