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.

Photo by Zlaťáky.cz on Unsplash

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.

Photo by Julia Koblitz on Unsplash

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.

Photo by Rocco Dipoppa on Unsplash

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.

Korn Ferry: The Air France Challenge

It sounds like a scene from the torrid days of airline deregulation that made so many headlines in the 1980s: Unhappy unions, with strikes threatening to bring an iconic airline company to a near-standstill. A CEO who resigns. And in the middle of all this? Travelers scrambling to figure out the best way to secure their next vacation.

The carrier in this case is Air France, and while its challenges are not new, the partially state-owned airlines got an important piece of news recently from French president Emmanuel Macron. His message: You are on your own. Read more here.

Forbes: Why China's Yuan Is No Imminent Threat To The Dollar

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Some bad ideas just won't die. It seems to matter not that many are silly beyond logic.

When it comes to money matters, a big one stands out as ridiculous. That is the recurrent meme that China will somehow imminently oust the U.S. dollar from its role as by far the world's most important currency.

The problem is that the trope doesn't reflect the reality of the world in which we are living. Read more here.