WHERE can you find a 7% interest rate on a sovereign dollar-bond? You would have to take a time-machine to the mid-1990s to find such a yield on a ten-year American Treasury. Alternatively, you could slip back a few days to August 2nd and bid for the $1bn of five-year bonds sold by the government […]
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WHEN Heathrow airport opened, in 1946, the only retail facilities were a bar with chintz armchairs and a small newsagent’s. The first terminal was a tent, a far cry from the four halls, resembling vast shopping malls, at the London airport today. Retail spending per passenger is the highest of any airport. This summer’s consumer […]
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WHEN the Commonwealth Bank of Australia on August 9th reported its profit for the year to June—above forecasts and just shy of A$10bn ($7.9bn)—it faced questions about cashflows of another sort. Six days earlier the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), a regulator charged with gathering financial intelligence to combat money-laundering and terrorism, had […]
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Amazon halved the amount of U.K. corporation tax it paid last year while more than doubling turnover during the same period. Accounts filed by Amazon UK Services show the company was billed just £7.4 million ($9.6 mn) for 2016 compared with £15.8 mn in 2015. And once a series of deductions had been added, Amazon […]
Read moreThe number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a tightening labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 244,000 for the week ended August 5, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised […]
Read moreU.S. producer prices unexpectedly fell in July, recording their biggest drop in nearly a year, weighed down by declining costs for services and energy products. The Labor Department said on Thursday its producer price index for final demand slipped 0.1 percent last month, reversing June’s 0.1 percent gain. July’s drop was the largest since August […]
Read moreThe Bank of England (BOE) has decided to keep using polymer, an ingredient containing beef, for its banknotes despite a backdrop of animal rights activists angered by the move. The U.K.’s central bank said on Thursday that it would continue using the substance in future print runs, and that the only other viable options to […]
Read moreFrom tree houses to igloos, Airbnb offers some pretty unique accommodation experiences, but it is now giving vacationers the chance to stay in the former home of a sitting president. The childhood home of U.S. President Donald Trump in Queens, New York City, has been listed on the property sharing platform for a cost of […]
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Washington is ready to use “any appropriate measures” to defeat the growing threat from North Korea, according to one of President Donald Trump‘s key aides. Sebastian Gorka, who is deputy assistant to the president, said on Thursday that the White House will use any means necessary to defend the United States and its citizens from […]
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When most of the euro zone seems to be flourishing, its third largest economy remains a major headache. Italy is dubbed by many analysts as the biggest threat to the stability of the euro zone economy, even though recent data have come in above forecasts. “Italy’s GDP (gross domestic product) year-on-year percentage change is only […]
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