By SIMON CONSTABLE
Have bankers no shame?
In Britain, at least, it appears not. Eventually, that could hurt the entire industry.
Starting in April, the big banks want to charge overdraft borrowers a staggering 40% a year in interest. That means for every £1,000 ($1,300) they borrow, they must pay £400 in interest each year. Overdrafts are unsecured loans made typically for short periods of time in much the same way as credit card loans. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Wednesday’s news of a massive data breach at tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) might not seem like a good omen. After all, information on a quarter of a billion of the company’s customers got exposed online with no password protection.
That’s certainly not good.
But what might be beneficial is a potential opportunity for investors to make some money. At least that’s the theory based on an analysis of other public companies that got hit by hackers. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
The phase-one trade deal between the U.S. and China announced in mid-January should create frequent opportunities for soybean traders to make money. What it won’t do is create a bull market for the grain.
“The strategy would be to buy on the breaks,” says Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisors. “You have to be opportunistic is the point.” Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Stock market euphoria could quickly turn to tears unless President Donald Trump gets re-elected.
That’s the story according to new research published Wednesday by from London-based financial research firm Capital Economics.
The report, titled “It could soon be time to downsize” warns that the recent stellar outperformance by the largest stocks in the market could quickly reverse unless Trump keeps his job in the White House after the November election. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
There’s nothing like a bold goal to kick off the decade. And as leaders gather for that most sought-after conference of the year, they decided on a huge one.
Among other topics that will make headlines, the business and political leaders attending this week’s World Economic Forum meeting in the Alpine village of Davos, Switzerland, will discuss two objectives that might not be compatible in the short term. They will respond to a rallying call to fight climate change, and they will grapple with the immediate threat of a slowing global economy. The trick for executives and other leaders will be how to achieve both at the same time. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
U.S. sanctions are squeezing the life out of the Iranian economy, and the malaise is likely to get even worse.
“We expect the contraction to deepen,” states a recent report by Garbis Iradian and his team at the Washington D.C.-based think tank, the Institute of International Finance.
How bad? In the current fiscal year, which ends in March, the Islamic Republic’s economy will likely shrink by 7.2%, that’s even worse than the already-dire 4.6% drop the prior year, according to the report. Read more here.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Last year gold investors had a lucrative but bumpy ride. Expect more of the same for 2020, according to a new report. Ultra-low interest rates, a frothy stock market, and geopolitical tension stand out as things that could both support more price gains over the next 12 months and lead to wild swings. Read more here.
