Forbes: Who's To Blame For GM's Woes -- Trump Or The Fed?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There's more to General Motors' problems than steel tariffs.

While it is convenient to blame President Donald Trump for the recent mass layoff announcement at my former employer, there are other perhaps more important things to consider. Read more here.

Forbes: Why Stock Investors Should Cheer Plunging Oil Prices

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Some people are doing an awful lot of handwringing over plunging oil prices.

They shouldn't be. When oil prices take a major hit, just like we've seen recently, then stock prices should surge in short order, according to detailed historical market analysis. Read more here.

Forbes: How GDPR Became Europe's Tech Job-Killer

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The European Union seems to have shot itself in the foot.

Its efforts to protect your data from misuse likely cost the bloc tens of thousands of jobs in the fast-growing technology sector, according to a recent report from the National Bureau of Economic Research. Read more here.

Middle East Eye: Trump and the "Saudi Effect"

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Was Saudi Arabia really responsible for the recent plunge in global oil prices?

The Gulf kingdom deserves some of the credit that US President Donald Trump doled out just before the US Thanksgiving holiday this week, when he thanked Saudi Arabia for "oil prices getting lower".

But a slew of other things are involved, including expectations that the demand for oil will decrease and increased supplies from North American shale-fracking operations, analysts say. Read more here.

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

Barron's: Dutch Materials Stock Looks Tempting

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It’s time to bet on Dutch materials firm AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group.

Investors recently soured on lithium, casting a pall over the stock (ticker: AMG.Netherlands), even though its exposure to the metal is small. Now the shares—including those traded over the counter in the U.S. under the symbol AMVMF—look cheap, especially given the company’s expanding profit margins. Read more here. 

Briefings Magazine: Beyond Blending In

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It’s an oil painting by 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, the kind almost any museum would proudly display. Only this one is hanging in a slightly different location: a conference room of a wealth-management firm.

Or at least it could be. While everyone from clients to office workers may give it scant notice, most companies tend to treat office art fairly seriously. After all, aside from the money they may spend on it, the art alone can help business, serving as an icebreaker, for example. “It is difficult to get people to start talking about their money immediately,” says Annelien Bruins, CEO of the Tang Art Advisory in New York. For their part, hedge funds may use artwork to signal financial success. Read more here.

Briefings Magazine: It Isn’t the End of the World

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Italy somehow goes without a ruling party government for three months. Britain’s government is only a little better off, with internal conflict and party bickering bringing Brexit negotiations to a halt. And let’s not even bring up all the dizzying turmoil from the White House and Congress in the United States. All of which should be shaking up these countries’ economies, with investors and corporate leaders feeling pretty nervous with every headline. Read more here.