Can entire markets strategically confuse consumers to raise prices? This column tracks the prices of nearly all mobile phone tariffs and handsets in the UK from 2010 to 2012, and finds that quality-adjusted prices rise in the early part of the sample period and decline later. Obfuscation strategies by firms appear to be the primary […]
U.S. bank stocks, including Zions Bancorporation, Jefferies, and Western Alliance, fell sharply on Thursday as investors grew uneasy about risk in the sector, which has been shaken by exposure to two auto bankruptcies. Zions sank 12% after disclosing it would take a $50 million loss in the third quarter on two commercial and industrial loans from […]
Retail investors represented 74.27% of total trading, while institutions made up 25.72%. The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) ended Thursday’s trading session with a mixed performance. The EGX30 index grew by 0.06% to 37,677.19 points. Likewise, the EGX35-LV also went up by 1.10% to 4,201.59 points. Both the EGX70 index and the EGX100 concluded the trading session […]
The IMF this week edged up its 2025 global growth forecast given a more benign impact from tariffs. Global public debt is projected to rise above 100% of gross domestic product by 2029, reaching its highest level since 1948 and continuing to climb, the IMF said on Wednesday, urging countries to build up buffers to […]
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said tariffs accounted for perhaps 30-40 basis points of the latest core inflation reading of 2.9% but the effect should be “relatively short-lived”. U.S. companies and consumers are bearing the brunt of the country’s new import tariffs, early indications show, contradicting assertions by President Donald Trump and complicating the Federal Reserve’s […]
Aussie slides as investors flock to safe-havens, yen strenghtens. The Australian dollar tumbled on Tuesday, while the safe-haven Swiss franc and Japanese yen strengthened as renewed signs of strains in U.S.-China trade relations dented risk sentiment and left investors ducking for cover. Trade and tariffs have been the main focus since dramatic market moves on […]
Wall Street’s main indexes advanced on Monday following Friday’s pullback, as investors returned to risk assets after President Donald Trump’s softer tone eased concerns over renewed U.S.-China trade tensions. Aiding sentiment, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business Network on Monday that Trump was on track to meet his Chinese counterpart in […]
The U.S. stock market’s bull run is almost three years old, but if history is a guide, that would make it only middle-aged. The S&P 500 has set a series of record highs in the lead-up to Sunday’s anniversary of the start of the bull market on October 12, 2022. On that date three years ago, […]
With demand from US and China weakening, the EU can boost trade by focusing on other markets and strengthening global partnerships. The global trading system is undergoing profound changes, and current developments in the US and China will have significant implications for the European economy. Both countries were at the heart of globalisation but are […]
There is general agreement that a currency’s safe-haven status can be gauged by its response to changes in financial volatility. This column documents how, in the months following the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” announcement, the dollar switched from rising during periods of market volatility to falling, and thus appeared to switch from a safe-haven to […]
