Korn Ferry: Has Productivity Flatlined in the UK?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The world may think we are all long past the financial crisis of 2008. But new research suggests that in the United Kingdom, and perhaps elsewhere, the harm to the workforce has been much more lasting—and still needs correcting.

According to new data that only makes the timing of Brexit more worrisome, during the decade after the crisis, the UK’s economic efficiency fell to its worst level in 250 years. Productivity growth, or the annual increase in output per worker, fell to an average of less than 0.2% per year over the decade, compared to a normal trend line increase of between 1% and 3% a year, the research shows. More recent figures suggest little improvement last year. Read more here.

Barron's: Lloyds Stock Is a Post-Brexit ‘Pure U.K. Banking Play’

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investors looking to bet on a Brexit-fueled jump in Britain’s economy should consider buying shares in United Kingdom-based financial powerhouse Lloyds Banking Group.

The stock is cheap and highly geared to the U.K. economy, and you’ll also get paid a hefty dividend while you wait. Read more here.

Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes: The Skinny On The Ongoing Morningstar Ratings Squabble

By SIMON CONSTABLE

First, there were the claims of wrongdoing, then there were counterclaims, and after that, the rebuttal to the counterclaims. What's more, there's no end in sight. 

It is a story of a continuing squabble over how mutual funds that hold bonds are classified. Read more here.

WSJ: Which Way to Buy Gold: The Metal or the Companies?

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

After years stuck in the doldrums, gold is back in fashion. A common question from individual investors is, should they put their money into the precious metal itself or gold-mining stocks?

“It boils down to what you are trying to achieve” says Rohit Savant, vice president of research at New York commodities consulting firm CPM Group. Read more here.

Photo by Kotivalo, 

CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, 

via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ: Videogame ETFs Are in Growth Mode

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Exchange-traded-fund investors who want to bet on the fast-growing videogaming industry now have more ways to do it than ever before.

In recent years, fund firms have launched several new ETFs focused on videogames and esports, a form of competitive videogaming that spectators watch like a sporting event. Still, while all of the products are to capitalize on the same trend, they don’t mirror each other in terms of holdings or costs. Read more here.

Photo by Sam Pak on Unsplash

WSJ: What Are ‘Nongrowth’ Stocks and ‘Bond Surrogates’?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Sometimes it seems the language Wall Street uses to describe the market changes almost as much as the market itself. That can make reading research reports confusing. 

For instance, a recent report from New-York-based Wolfe Research focused on two different types of stocks: “nongrowth” and “bond surrogates.” These terms may be unfamiliar to some. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: Brexit, Week Two

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It was fairly anticlimactic, the United Kingdom’s big departure from the European Union last week. But corporate leaders are discovering they have two issues to jump on—including one surprise.

An immediate issue for leaders is to figure out how to fill a potentially significant shortage of skilled workers. Before last week, most EU residents had an automatic right to work in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. For instance, if an office in Manchester needed a computer programmer, it could hire someone from Barcelona without much paperwork or cost. Now, companies will need to lobby for work visas if they want to hire someone from overseas. Read more here.