The Iranian deal is truly historic – but not because it resolves nuclear crisis November 25, 2013 THE HISTORIC interim agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and (primarily) the West over the former’s nuclear ambitions is the real deal – an actual current event that lives up to the “historic” tagline far too easily given out by breathless commentators. However, on its immediate merits, the best that can be said of [...]
Every awful emerging market acronym in 1 chart February 3, 2014 Inspired by this chart from the TUC’s Duncan Weldon, we’ve stuck together just 10 of the many popular emerging market acronyms in a single diagram. Hopefully you can now make sense of what often seem to be quite arbitrary categorisations. We think you’ll agree that it all looks quite messy, and the takeaway seems to [...]
Every awful emerging market acronym in 1 chart February 3, 2014 Inspired by this chart from the TUC's Duncan Weldon, we've stuck together just 10 of the many popular emerging market acronyms in a single diagram. Hopefully you can now make sense of what often seem to be quite arbitrary categorisations. We think you'll agree that it all looks quite messy, and the takeaway seems to [...]
Dish of the Day: Sabrina Ghayour’s lamb biryani June 10, 2014 Picture: Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton PERSIAN food is much lighter than people expect and it’s the least spiced food in the Middle East. It uses an abundance of fresh herbs, lemons, tomatoes and molasses and we tend to eat a lot of lamb, chicken and fish. It’s a really good place to start if you [...]
Dish of the Day: Sabrina Ghayour’s lamb biryani June 10, 2014 Picture: Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton PERSIAN food is much lighter than people expect and it’s the least spiced food in the Middle East. It uses an abundance of fresh herbs, lemons, tomatoes and molasses and we tend to [...]
CNBC Comment: Russia’s economy looks set up for a fall March 3, 2014 DECADES of diplomacy ushered Moscow into the international tent. And in the interest of keeping the country inside, Western powers mostly seemed content to ignore Russian aggression across its borders and human rights violations within. But this not-so-Great Game of diplomacy only works when all sides are prepared to at least preserve the façade. Closer [...]
Russia’s Ukrainian grab requires a firmer response from West March 17, 2014 AT THE start of every year, forecasters try to predict what could go wrong over the next 12 months – and every time, they get it terribly, spectacularly wrong. Just three months ago, the big risks were seen to be China, Iran, tapering or Eurozone deflation – of course, one or all of these could [...]
There’s a cost to doing nothing in Ukraine March 3, 2014 IN RESPONSE to Russian forces entering the Crimea, the interim Ukrainian government called for UK and US intervention, invoking the undertakings we (and the French, and latterly Nato) gave to protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Yesterday, William Hague went to Kiev to tell the Ukrainians to their faces that we’re not coming – “no military options [...]
Markets are roaring – Nasdaq hits 4,000 for first time in 13 years November 25, 2013 US indexes are surging on open, as the Nasdaq has passed 4,000 for the first time since September 2000. That follows Germany's Dax reaching a record high, passing 9,300 for the first time. MSCI's All-Country World Index has also moved higher, reaching five year highs. Much of that momentum comes from the successful negotiation of [...]
England could face Brazil and Dutch in World Cup nightmare December 3, 2013 ENGLAND’S World Cup hopes suffered a setback last night when it emerged they could be plunged into a group with two top 10 teams when the draw is made on Friday. The worst-case scenario would see them drawn with Brazil, Holland and the USA – all ranked in world governing body Fifa’s top 14 countries. [...]