WSJ: What Is CCAR?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Over the next few weeks, the abbreviation CCAR, which stands for Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, is likely to crop up in news articles and online posts. It matters for anyone who follows the U.S. banking industry. Read more here.

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WSJ: Emerging Markets Have a Dollar Problem

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Emerging-markets stocks have been pummeled lately, and the strength of the dollar gets much of the blame.

“The dollar remains the single most important consideration for EM [emerging-markets] finances,” says a report from debt-ratings company Fitch. In general, a stronger dollar tends to mean lower stock prices in emerging markets. Read more here.

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Barrons: Tariffs Won’t Dent Steelmakers

By SIMON CONSTABLE

In boxing it’s considered unsporting to kick your opponent when he’s down. Apparently, not so in international trade.

Soon after last week’s Italian-inspired market wobbles, President Trump decided to pile on. As of Friday, imports of European-made steel and aluminum are subject to tariffs of 25% and 10% respectively. Read more here.

Steel tubing

Photo by Christophe Dion on Unsplash

Middle East Eye: Good as gold -- Turkey uses bullion to stabilise its economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Turkey’s economy has been in a tailspin with an inflationary currency, but the country is using something rare to help stabilise itself: gold.

In late 2011, Turkey started to allow commercial banks to use gold instead of the Turkish lira for their required deposits at the central bank. These deposits are known as reserve requirements and help ensure that the banks are capitalised. Read more here.

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WSJ: For Scientists Seeking Research Backing, Crowdfunding May Be the Answer

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Scientists struggling to find funding for research may have a new source of money: crowdfunding.

That’s the conclusion of a new study, which suggests that scientists who lack extensive published research may be better off gathering many modest contributions instead of pursuing large financial grants from traditional sources. Read more here.

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P.J. Media: Despite Brexit Detractors, Signs of Strength in Britain’s Economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Sometimes when you look at the facts, it just doesn’t jibe with the commentary from the chattering classes.

Take, for instance, the UK economy. The stock market recently hit a record, the same for investment, and unemployment is at a 42-year low. While that wouldn’t sound too shabby to most people, it does to some folks. Read more here.

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Briefings Magazine: When a Tornado Can Save the Day

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A few years ago, a major Connecticut-based manufacturer was desperately trying to fix the profitability of one of its business units. Executives’ initial thoughts were that the business needed some good old-fashioned cost cutting, a bit of slash and burn if you like. But to be sure, they asked for some expert help in the form of Yael Grushka-Cockayne, professor of quantitative analysis at University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. She got to work by analyzing the key variables—and came to a different conclusion. It wasn’t cost cutting. “The focus needed to be on sales growth,” she says.

But how do you convince a management stuck on one idea? Enter the tornado chart. This remarkably simple diagram—easy to produce—would be the game changer here, with bar lines proving the impact of boosting profits with more production. The wider the bar at the top, the bigger the impact—and, yes, it resembles the shape of a tornado. Read more here.