WHEN the first printed books with illustrations started to appear in the 1470s in the German city of Augsburg, wood engravers rose up in protest. Worried about their jobs, they literally stopped the presses. In fact, their skills turned out to be in higher demand than before: somebody had to illustrate the growing number of […]
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Strong euro could knock up to 3 percent off European earnings, UBS warns
With the euro on the rise against major world currencies, investors may be concerned about how this will weigh on European profits and some analysts suggest the stronger euro could knock up to 3 percent off earnings. “If currencies stay stable, we think (the trade-weighted euro) will peak out up around 6 percent year-on-year in […]
Read moreU.S. home resales unexpectedly fell in July to their lowest monthly level of the year due to a lack of properties for sale, which also continued to push up prices. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday existing home sales fell 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.44 million units last […]
Read moreThe number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose less than expected last week, suggesting a further tightening in labor market conditions. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000 for the week ended Aug. 19, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was unrevised. Claims […]
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At Jackson Hole, the death of an economic model may concern central bankers
As central bankers gather at the annual Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, analysts think the death of a major economic concept could dominate discussions. Known as Phillips curve, an economic concept developed by New Zealand economist William Phillips, it shows that inflation and unemployment have a stable and inverse relationship. However, in the recent months […]
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Weak pound pushes UK household spending growth to slowest since 2014
British household spending grew at its weakest pace since late 2014 in the three months to June as the effect of a weaker pound since last year’s Brexit vote weighed on Britons’ spending power, official statistics showed on Thursday. Year-on-year spending growth dropped to 2.0 percent from 2.6 percent after expanding just 0.1 percent in […]
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India’s landmark Supreme Court ruling could be damning for Modi’s biometric payment scheme
The Indian government has suffered a huge setback after a landmark Supreme Court ruling found that citizens have a fundamental right to privacy, posing a risk for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biometric payment scheme. The highest court in the country voted unanimously Thursday that privacy is an “intrinsic” part of Article 21 of the Indian […]
Read moreShares in Britain’s Dixons Carphone plunged 30 percent after the retailer cut its full-year profit forecast on Thursday, blaming tougher conditions in the mobile market as customers keeptheir handsets longer. The retailer said headline pretax profit for the year was expected to be in a range of 360 million pounds to 440 million pounds ($460-562 […]
Read moreDutch police on Thursday questioned a Spanish man detained with gas canisters in a van while driving near a concert venue where a rock concert was cancelled due to a threat of an attack. The man was being held in Rotterdam, where he was stopped in the white vehicle with Spanish licence plates on Wednesday, […]
Read moreNewly built homes are more expensive than they’ve ever been before. They are also more expensive when compared to similar existing homes than they’ve ever been before. And that is why sales are suffering, dropping an unexpected 9.4 percent in July compared to June, according to the U.S. Census. They are simply out of reach […]
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