Prying Eyes: Companies Track Employees On- and Off-duty via Special Software & SM

Edward Snowden showed the public to what extent governments are spying on them. But there is another form of surveillance, that's barely on the radar... employers using software to track employees in the work place.

Analysts Warn of "Another Crash" as FTSE Hits Lowest Level Since Black Monday

THE TELEGRAPH: Almost £44bn has been wiped off the value of Britain's biggest companies as copper prices hit a two-week low.

Almost £44bn was wiped off Britain’s leading companies in a torrid trading session which saw the mining heavy FTSE sink to its lowest level since "Black Monday", as analysts warned another “crash” in global markets is possible.

In its biggest fall since September 1, the blue chip index slumped 172.87 points, or 2.83pc, to 5,935.84, just 37 points shy of where it closed on August 24, as the rout in commodity prices continued to drag mining stocks lower.

Despite racing to an all time record high of 7,104 in April, the FTSE 100 has steadily lost ground, and is now down 16.4pc, rocked by concerns over an economic slowdown in China.

Joshua Mahony, of IG, warned: “There is a distinct possibility of yet another crash in financial markets.”

“The steroids of monetary policy may have brought us to heights previously unseen in global markets, yet as the Fed and Bank of England begin wean us off this artificial high, we are coming to find ourselves perilously exposed to another major selloff.” Read on and comment » | Tara Cunningham, Business Reporter | Tuesday, September 22, 2015

VW Is Now in Mortal Danger, But It’s Not the Only One

THE TELEGRAPH: There is little doubt that the repercussions from the Volkswagen scandal will spread beyond the German giant

It is, at this stage, possible to say, without fear of contradiction, that things look pretty bad for Volkswagen.

Some of the numbers that have been generated by this scandal are scarcely believable. Volkswagen’s shares have slumped 35pc in the two days since news broke that the company falsified emissions data in the US to make its diesel engines look cleaner than they actually are. This is a more precipitous fall in value than BP suffered in the days after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

About €25bn (£18bn) has been wiped off the market capitalisation of the German company, which has fessed up to the fact that 11m of its cars have probably been fitted with the pollution cheating software. VW has already set aside a cool €6.5bn to pay all the fines that are surely heading its way; some believe the figure could end up being fined closer to $18bn (£12bn). Read on and comment » | Ben Wright | Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Fragen und Antworten: Warum die Fed nicht am Geldhahn dreht

Fed-Chefin Janet Yellen

DIE PRESSE: Einmal mehr hat die US-Zentralbank die Zinswende verschoben. Ökonomen zufolge droht sie ihre Glaubwürdigkeit zu verlieren.

Die Zinswende in den USA bleibt vorerst aus. Noch scheuen sich die Geldpolitiker um Fed-Chefin Janet Yellen, erstmals seit Jahren wieder am Geldhahn zu drehen. Allerdings könnte die US-Notenbank noch in diesem Jahr handeln - und damit auch die Konjunktur im Euroraum anschieben. Seit Ende 2008 liegen die Zinsen in den USA, zu dem Banken Zentralbankgeld leihen können, auf dem Tief zwischen 0 und 0,25 Prozent. » | APA/dpa | Freitag, 18. September 2015

Negative Interest Rates Could Be Necessary to Protect UK Economy, Says Bank of England Chief Economist

Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist

THE TELEGRAPH: Andy Haldane argues for raising UK's inflation target in bid to give policymakers more 'wiggle room' in fighting downturns - and suggests cash could need to be abolished sooner rather than later

The Bank of England may need to push its interest rates into negative territory to fight off the next recession, its chief economist has said.

Andy Haldane, one of the Bank’s nine interest rate setters, made the case for the "radical" option of supporting the economy with negative interest rates, and even suggested that cash could have to be abolished.

He said that the "the balance of risks to UK growth, and to UK inflation at the two-year horizon, is skewed squarely and significantly to the downside".

As a result, "there could be a need to loosen rather than tighten the monetary reins as a next step to support UK growth and return inflation to target". » | Peter Spence, Economics Correspondent | Friday, September 18, 2015

Die US-Notenbank sendet das falsche Signal

Fed-Chefin Janet Yellen beantwortet die Fragen
der Journalisten nach der Leitzins-Entscheidung.

SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG: Die Fed setzt weiter auf die Strategie des billigen Geldes. Ändert sie diese nicht endlich, wird es in einer nächsten Krise gefährlich.

Die Entscheidung ist also noch einmal vertagt, die US-Notenbank belässt ihren Leitzins vorerst bei null. Zu groß war offenbar die Furcht der Währungshüter, dass die erste Straffung der Geldpolitik seit neun Jahren die Konjunktur abwürgen, Chaos an den Finanzmärkten auslösen und viele Schwellenländer in die Krise stürzen könnte.

So berechtigt die Sorgen sind: Der Beschluss der Fed ist falsch. Die US-Wirtschaft wächst robust, die Arbeitslosigkeit ist kräftig gesunken. Gleichzeitig könnte die Inflationsrate bei einem parallelen Anstieg von Löhnen und Energiepreisen rasch zum Problem werden. Wann, wenn nicht jetzt, will die Notenbank damit beginnen, das unnatürliche Zinsniveau der letzten Jahre hinter sich zu lassen und zu normaleren Sätzen zurückzukehren? » | Ein Kommentar von Claus Hulverscheidt | Donnerstag, 17. September 2015

Paul Mason: Is Capitalism Dead?

In the wake of the financial crisis and with the rapid rise of new technologies, award-winning economist and journalist, Paul Mason, believes we're on the cusp of a seismic economic shift, of a kind yet to be seen in human history. So has capitalism had its day? Watch him argue his case with Douglas Murray, Zoe Williams, Julia Powles and Pat Kane.

The Guardian Live event took place on 22 July and was chaired by Observer editor John Mulholland.

BMW CEO Faints during News Conference at Frankfurt Auto Show

The CEO of BMW Harald Krueger, fainted during a news conference at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Staff rushed to help him back onto his feet and off the stage. BMW spokesperson told media that Krueger has been traveling a lot recently and didn't feel well.

Should We Return to the Gold Standard?

Aug. 28, 2015 - 4:52 - Forbes Media Chairman Steve Forbes and Steve Moore of the Heritage Foundation discuss the markets and whether to go back to the gold standard.