By SIMON CONSTABLE
"By most economic measures, Britain's economy is performing far better than comparable economies across the channel in mainland Europe," Simon Constable of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics wrote. "As they say on Wall Street, gridlock in government is good because it means our politicians don't do anything bad."
Read the full Sputnik story here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
The American worker has a long history of being innovative and resourceful. But ask them to take a true vacation—a real break from the office—and a remarkable number continue to struggle.
On the eve of the Memorial Day weekend that launches the country’s traditional summer break, a new Korn Ferry survey suggests that while 19 out of 20 US residents are planning to take a vacation lasting at least one week long this year, the majority (71%) still check in with the office one or more times each day. And that’s just part of the sad trend: two out of three respondents said they’ve cut short a break or canceled one for work reasons. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
The world faces a global energy crisis unless something changes fast.
Supplies of energy, such as oil and natural gas, look set to fall short of even a modest forecast of rising global demand. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
British leaders may be divided over Brexit and which team to root for in the all-English Champions League Final, but they do seem to agree on one issue: employers should pay their workers more.
In the first quarter of the year, wages in the United Kingdom rose 3.5% versus the same period a year ago, according to data from the UK’s Office of National Statistics. It’s the best increase Britain’s workers have had since the financial crisis more than a decade ago and helps reverse a period when the real, or inflation-adjusted, rates of pay declined. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
G
et ready for a surge in Europe's benchmark oil price: Brent crude.
There's a shortage of crude in Europe, and the price of Brent futures contracts doesn't reflect that stark reality, according to a new report.
"We expect the tightness in the physical market to impact the financial market, and see Brent rising to $75/[barrel] over the coming weeks," UBS wrote in a recent research note. "The physical market in Europe is scrambling to obtain sufficient barrels." Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
When entrepreneur Elon Musk started production of Tesla’s electric vehicles in 2004, it must have looked bizarre. There was effectively no market for such cars anywhere, with fewer than 2,000 on the road within the next year and virtually no public charging stations. That’s only slightly more than all the 1,549 747 jumbo jets that aircraft maker Boeing has ever built. But we know how this story has shaped up: within a decade, Musk’s prescience was proven, with around 1.9 million battery-powered electric vehicles of all brands on the road in 2017, along with 430,000 public chargers. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Here’s something to add a spark to your portfolio.
German materials company Covestro (ticker: 1COV.Germany or COVTY), which makes high-tech plastics, is not only in a prime position to benefit from the need for high-performance materials in electric vehicles,
but it’s also woefully undervalued. Read more here.
