Investment Week (November)
The recent 0.25% increase “in interest rates announced by the Bank of England leaves us with no more clarity about the direction of monetary policy than we had before the micro-adjustment. Indeed, the increase raises rather more questions than it resolves.” The cut may simply reverse “the rather ill-judged post referendum cut,” Or it could be one off “nod to those worried about inflation becoming more embedded.” Or it could be “the start of a sequence that will see regular increases in rates along a path towards normalisation.”
Tags: Adjustment, BOE, Clarity, Direction, Inflation, Interest rates, Monetary policy, Normalisation, Referendum
Toronto Sun (November 27)
“It’s an odd notion: Canada works with Cuba to get them to work with North Korea to get them, in turn, to work with the United States on cooling their nuclear ambitions. But it’s a worthwhile approach… While there’s not a whole lot Canada can do, it’s good that Trudeau’s serious about at least doing what we can.”
Tags: Canada, Cuba, North Korea, Trudeau, U.S., Worthwhile
Fortune (November 27)
“Mumbai International Airport handled a combined 969 flights on Friday. That’s more than any other airport that operates a single runway has ever handled over a 24-hour period.” With 1,000 flights a day in sight, Mumbai is experiencing rising demand and India is soon “set to be world’s third largest aviation market after China and the United States.”
Salon (November 26)
“A wholesale collapse of Pine Island and Thwaites would set off a catastrophe. Giant icebergs would stream away from Antarctica like a parade of frozen soldiers. All over the world, high tides would creep higher, slowly burying every shoreline on the planet, flooding coastal cities and creating hundreds of millions of climate refugees. But “what we do now will determine how quickly” this ensues. “A fast transition away from fossil fuels in the next few decades could be enough to put off rapid sea-level rise for centuries. That’s a decision worth countless trillions of dollars and millions of lives.”
Tags: Antarctica, Catastrophe, Climate refugees, Collapse, Flooding, Fossil fuels, Icebergs, Pine Island, Shoreline, Thwaites, Tides
CNN (November 26)
“When we use the term ‘fake news’ it is not only self-defeating, it oversimplifies a very complex problem.” The term once “meant something. It described a particular type of website that used the same design templates as professional news websites but its contents were entirely fabricated.” Since being hijacked, fake news is now “used to describe any piece of information that someone else didn’t like.” Instead, we must confront manifold issues surrounding misleading information. “The truth is that there are no easy solutions…. Ultimately, it is only logic and critical thinking which could save us from the trap of manipulation.”
Tags: Critical thinking, Fabricated, Fake news, Logic, Manipulation, Misleading information, Self-defeating, Truth
Newsweek (December 26)
“More than a third of Americans have listened to podcasts” while 15% loyally listen weekly. “Podcasts turned a corner in 2017, capturing the attention of more traditional platforms, like television, publishing and radio, who see podcasting as a way to grow audiences and to mine for stories.” Listeners respond at high rates to podcast advertising, which “is likely to expand in 2018, thanks to the proven effectiveness of the medium.”
Tags: Advertising, Audiences, Effectiveness, Podcasts, Publishing, Radio, Traditional platforms, TV, U.S.
The Independent (November 26)
“Brexit has been a long, slow process in accepting the reality that should have been better understood before the referendum. In the next three weeks, some things will become brutally clear that should have been obvious long ago.” Theresa May’s path to the next EU Council on December 14 will be “strewn with unpalatable truths.” The £40bn exit bill and continuing sovereignty of EU law during the transition are just the beginning. “As it turns out, it may be that the more difficult intrusion of reality into the Brexit negotiations is the question of the Irish border.”
Tags: Brexit, EU Council, EU law, Irish border, May, Reality, Referendum, Sovereignty, Transition, Unpalatable
The Economist (November 25)
“Political uncertainty is bad for Germany and Europe. Germans should vote again.”
Tags: Europe, Germany, Political uncertainty, Vote
Professional Pensions (November Issue)
“The problem with ESG fund ratings is primarily that they are fairly new—and are therefore prone to criticism that they are not detailed enough, are missing information, or are failing to analyse certain aspects of companies.” At this stage, “to truly reduce ESG risk exposure, those overseeing funds may need to do their own research and engage with companies to properly inform their decision-making.”
Tags: Criticism, Decision-making, Detailed, Engage, ESG, Fund ratings, New, Research, Risk exposure
New York Times (November 23)
“Everything this president and this Congress are doing on economic policy seems designed, not just to widen the gap between the wealthy and everyone else, but to lock in plutocrats’ advantages, making it easier to ensure that their heirs remain on top and the rest stay down.” While the “terrible tax bills” may not make it through Congress, “environmental policy is largely set by administrative action, and this administration has been moving with stunning speed to get poisons back into our air and water.”
Tags: Air, Congress, Economic policy, Environment, Heirs, Plutocrats, Poisons, Trump, Water, Wealth gap