Simon Constable discusses the political troubles of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the suspension of a US-UKtech deal due to clashes over AI regulation. He explains that Britain’s “Online Safety Act” aims to tax and regulate tech giants, which threatens to stifle American AI companies operating there.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Simon Constable reports from France on high copper prices and slowing European energy demand. He describes protests by French farmers burning hay to oppose government orders to cull cattle exposed to disease and notes a significant rise in electric vehicle sales across the European Union.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Inflation is elevated. Tax cuts have energized the economy. And the president and Federal Reserve chief are locked in battle over interest rates.
Sound familiar?
While the challenge to the Fed’s independence isn’t an exact analog of today, where President Trump has repeatedly called on Fed Chief Jerome Powell and others to cut interest rates, it's what happened in 1965 as President Lyndon Johnson made an “unusual public expression of disapproval of the board’s action to increase interest rates by 0.5% point to 4.5%.
LBJ called the Fed Chairman and other top economic officials and laid into them. “You’ve got me in a position where you can run a rapier into me,” charged Johnson.
Many business leaders of the time seemed worried about inflation. “I approve of the increase” because “all signs indicate we are in a spiral of inflation,” one business leader said.
Others saw the president’s comments as simply political. “This [criticism] is just what you’d expect him to say,” said another business leader. “If the economy turns down, he can blame it on the Fed. If the economy continues doing well, everyone will forget.”
Ultimately, neither the Fed nor inflation backed down. READ MORE HERE.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Black Friday is almost here. But how much do you know about it?
For decades, the day after Thanksgiving has marked the start of the shopping rush for the holiday season. What was once a single-day event has now grown to include Thanksgiving Day, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
Over the years, Black Friday has been surrounded by little-known details—and common misperceptions. Take our quiz and find out how much you really know.
Figures suggest there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for Britain’s manufacturing sector, which has faced years of struggles.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
It’s a sector that has been blindsided again and again. First, manufacturing firms were hit with COVID-19 lockdowns. Then came a surge in energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine. Supply chain-issues followed, along with higher interest rates and ultimately inflation. What else could go wrong?
Perhaps the sector has found a way to bounce back. One measure of its health, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), has steadily improved over the last 12 months, according to new data. As of October, the PMI was at 49.7, up from around 45 in March. While manufacturing slumped, executives were less willing to invest in new projects, says Ben Frost, a Korn Ferry senior client partner, EMEA. “There hasn’t been a positive outlook for a while,” he says. “But many executives are currently saying we need to activate these plans, and the time is now.”
Part of the turnaround has come from an increase in passenger-vehicle production following an interruption at one UK automaker. Still, experts forecast that the PMI is ripe to surpass 50 before year’s end. A PMI reading of 50+ indicates economic growth in the sector. The UK’s defense and aerospace subsector is also a bright spot, says Rory Singleton, a Korn Ferry senior client partner for the global industrial market. “We have world-leading companies in the subsector that should be seeing investment,” he observes. READ MORE HERE.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Britain’s reputation as a country full of get-up-and-go seems to have got up and left the kingdom. Much of the blame for that falls on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his colleagues, who led the left-leaning Labor Party to an epic victory in the middle of last year, but the landslide win hasn’t been good for the British economy.
The truth is that Britain’s primary income deficit — the difference between what the government raises from taxpayers compared to what it spends, excluding debt payments — has deteriorated rapidly over the last few years. In this year’s second quarter, the primary deficit totaled 16.8%, more than double the deficit in the fourth quarter of last year and the worst showing since the second quarter of 2023, according to government dat
"The biggest problem is the current British government is remorselessly negative," said Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank. "That’s not an environment to encourage investment." READ MORE HERE
