During the past decade, subdued wage growth and a faulty Phillips curve have puzzled economists. This column proposes an explanation: involuntary temporary workers have exerted significant competitive pressure on permanent workers, slowing overall wage growth. Using data from 30 European countries over the period 2004 to 2017, the authors incorporate temporary employment into the standard […]
There has been a growing trend towards more disclosure by central banks on the currency denomination of their foreign exchange reserves. This column introduces a new comprehensive dataset on the currency composition of foreign exchange reserves of 64 economies from 1996 to 2023. It shows that the US dollar and the euro remain the dominant […]
While distance may seem unimportant in the face of technological progress in transportation and communication, several studies have found that distance is a barrier to the diffusion of inventive activity and technology adoption. This column examines US firms’ adaptation and adoption of artificial intelligence in response to AI innovation. The authors find that distance from […]
Barclays reported a forecast-beating 18% rise in third-quarter profit on Thursday, as slower than expected interest rate cuts and upbeat investment banking prospects helped it raise its income outlook for the year. The buoyant earnings performance shows early promise for Barclays in its challenge, along with European rivals, to sustain earnings even as interest rates fall. Barclays […]
Oil prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, reversing some of the previous session’s losses, as the Middle East conflict and reports of North Korean troops ready to help Russia in Ukraine kept traders on edge ahead of the U.S. presidential election. Brent crude futures were up $1.26, or 1.7%, to $76.22 a barrel as […]
Norway’s largest oilfield Johan Sverdrup is expected to come off its production plateau early next year, operator Equinor said on Thursday. The field hit record daily output of more than 756,000 barrels of oil per day in September, equivalent to some 6%-7% of Europe’s daily oil consumption, according to Equinor. “We expect Johan Sverdrup to come […]
London Stock Exchange Group said on Thursday that its income rose a better-than-expected 9.5% in the third quarter versus a year earlier, helped by higher annual subscription value. LSEG’s total income, excluding recoveries, came in at 2.12 billion pounds ($2.74 billion) in the three months to September 30 on a constant currency basis, topping a company-compiled […]
The EU Court of Justice, Europe’s top court, ruled on Thursday in favour of Intel ,ending a nearly two-decade-long fight between the U.S. chipmaker and EU regulators who had said it had tried to thwart a rival. “The Court of Justice dismisses the Commission’s appeal, thereby upholding the judgment of the General Court,” the court said. […]
Geography can shape the distributional consequences of international trade. For example, Western England and Wales are more suitable for grazing, while eastern locations are more suitable for cultivating cereal grains. This column explores the impact of the 19th-century Grain Invasion on the two regions. Economic activity was substantially reallocated following the Grain Invasion within agriculture […]
In July 2024, the UK Treasury and Department of Trade and Business began work on the creation of a National Wealth Fund. The September 2024 CfM survey asked the panel whether such a fund will be effective in boosting investment and growth, and whether it is affordable given the UK’s high levels of public debt. […]
