Korn Ferry: Brexit -- Dealing With Dramatic Defeat

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There’s defeat, and then there’s crushing defeat. 

UK Prime Minister Theresa May suffered the latter Tuesday evening after losing a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal 432 to 202. The United Kingdom’s national broadcasting organization BBC calls it “the largest defeat for a sitting government in history.” May now must face a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons prompted by the leader of Britain’s opposition party, Jeremy Corbyn. Read more here.

Forbes: Could A Cryptocurrency Service Help Save Venezuela?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Venezuela's government can't seem to do anything right these days, so some enterprising folks have stepped forward to help the inflation-ravaged country.

Steve Hanke, hyperinflation expert, and professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University has teamed up with AirTM, a Mexico City-based blockchain-powered currency platform. Their goal is to get financial aid to beleaguered Venezuelans and they've named the  project "AirdropVenezuela." Read more here.

Barron's: A Top UK Income Investment Play

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Brexit-related clouds have produced another opportunity for investors: Legal & General.

L&G (tickers: LGEN.UK and LGGNF), which specializes in general (nonlife) insurance, asset management, and mortgages, offers a fat dividend yield at a compelling valuation. “It’s a buy for us,” says Ian Forrest, an analyst at United Kingdom stockbroker The Share Centre. “The yield is the most attractive thing. When you look at the forecasts for the company, it suggests dividends are likely to rise.” Read more here.

WSJ: What Is Gross Output and Intermediate Inputs?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Big changes are happening at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

It means you’ll be hearing more about two economic metrics: gross output and intermediate inputs. The two are related, but for economists, the latter has a meaningful use as an indicator of future economic activity. The BEA has been stepping up the speed at which it releases data on the metrics. Read more here.

Barron's: Why Beef Prices Are Primed to Sizzle

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A little beef could put some muscle in your portfolio.

African swine flu, possibly brutal winter weather, and falling beef production could propel prices for cattle futures more than 15% higher over the next two quarters or so.

“It’s a perfect situation for a pretty wild price move higher,” Shawn Hackett, CEO of Hackett Financial Advisors told Barron's. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: The Brexit Clock Keeps Ticking

By SIMON CONSTABLE

With fewer than 100 days before the March 29 Brexit deadline, it is still as clear as mud how the United Kingdom will leave the European Union, or if it will even leave at all.

Between proposed deals quickly scuttled, votes of no confidence against UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and talks of another Brexit referendum, it’s hard for anyone to figure out what will happen. Whatever the outcome, experts say UK businesses need to review how their company interacts with the EU (and vice versa) and what the various Brexit outcomes would mean to them. Read more here.

Forbes: Why Migrants Risk Death To Reach The UK -- It’s The Economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Britain is experiencing the best of times and the worst of times.

What you conclude will likely depend on which narrative you believe. There’s the story from financiers who bet with other peoples money, and then there’s the one from migrants who are willing to gamble with their lives.

Given the stakes involved, I’d say the latter is probably a better indicator that Britain’s economy is not lacking any mojo. The former probably says more about bankers than anything. Read more here.