The One Percent

Nov 2, 2011 | This 80-minute documentary focuses on the growing "wealth gap" in America, as seen through the eyes of filmmaker Jamie Johnson, a 27-year-old heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune. Johnson, who cut his film teeth at NYU and made the Emmy®-nominated 2003 HBO documentary Born Rich, here sets his sights on exploring the political, moral and emotional rationale that enables a tiny percentage of Americans - the one percent - to control nearly half the wealth of the entire United States. The film Includes interviews with Nicole Buffett, Bill Gates Sr., Adnan Khashoggi, Milton Friedman, Robert Reich, Ralph Nader and other luminaries.

The Wall Street Crash

Jan 17, 2015 | This BBC documentary from 2009 takes a fresh view of the 'Crash of 1929' and the subsequent global Depression, comparing aspects of that event with the most recent turbulence in 2008.

Coutts Chief Steps Down over Nigel Farage De-banking Scandal

THE TELEGRAPH: Lender’s treatment of Farage has ‘fallen below high standards of personal service’

Peter Flavel’s exit comes less than two days after Alison Rose stepped down as NatWest chief executive | CREDIT: Peter Nicholls/Reuters
The chief executive of Coutts has resigned with immediate effect over the private bank’s mishandling of Nigel Farage’s account.

Peter Flavel, who became boss of Coutts in 2016, said the treatment of Mr Farage had “fallen below the bank’s high standards of personal service”.

Paul Thwaite, the interim chief executive of NatWest, which owns Coutts, said: “I have agreed with Peter Flavel that he will step down as Coutts CEO and CEO of our Wealth Businesses by mutual consent with immediate effect.

“Whilst I will be personally sorry to lose Peter as a colleague, I believe this is the right decision for Coutts and the wider group.” » | Simon Foy | Thursday, July 27, 2023

Fed Raises Rates after a Pause and Leaves Door Open to More

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Federal Reserve officials raised interest rates to their highest level in 22 years, continuing their 16-month-long campaign to wrestle inflation lower by cooling the American economy.

Officials pushed rates to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent, their highest level since 2001, while leaving the door open to further rate increases in the statement announcing their unanimous decision. Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, is speaking [in the accompanying video] to journalists to explain the move — and, potentially, to offer some hint at how the central bank is thinking about its next step. (+ video) » | Jeanna Smialek | Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Pay Us More to Boost the City of London, Say FTSE Chiefs

THE TELEGRAPH: Square Mile bosses call for more government action to boost pension funds’ investing

Julia Hoggett, chief executive of London Stock Exchange, called for more to be done to address the pay gap between UK and US execs CREDIT: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg
Low executive pay is the biggest obstacle to boosting the City of London, FTSE bosses have said.

A new survey of 150 directors at London-listed companies found that lower pay for City chiefs compared to rival financial centres was holding back the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as a listing venue.
The research, carried out by investment bank Numis, adds to growing complaints in the Square Mile that Britain is being held back by a campaign against high pay.

Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the LSE, has said a pay disparity between UK chief executives versus their US counterparts has “not received enough attention” and called for a level playing field to stem an exodus of companies.

Chief executives of S&P 500 companies in the US make on average $10m more than FTSE 100 counterparts, according to data from Equilar and Deloitte published earlier this year. » | Simon Foy | Tuesday, July 25, 2023

One’s heart bleeds for these hard-done-by executives. How dare the system short-change them like that? – © Mark Alexander

Brexit Blamed as Number of Britons with Second Home in France Plummets

THE CONNEXION: New survey results show the number of households in England with a second home in France has fallen by 30,000 in a decade

The number of British people with second homes in France has dropped considerably in recent years Pic: E. Spek / Shutterstock
The number of Britons owning a second home in France has tumbled by more than 30,000 over the past decade, new figures reveal.

There were 93,000 households in England with a second home in France in 2012-13, according to the English Housing Survey.

The latest poll, published by the UK government, shows the number of households concerned dropped to 60,000 in 2021-22.

Estate agents have blamed Brexit and in particular the subsequent restrictions on free movement that mean Britons can only spend 90 days in any 180 in France. » | Hannah Thompson and Théophile Larcher | Monday, July 24, 2023

Iran Inflation: President Ebrahim Raisi Plans to Revive Economy

Jul 22, 2023 | Pressure is growing on the Iranian government to bring down rising prices. President Ebrahim Raisi has pledged to revive the economy, but people are increasingly falling into poverty. Crippling US sanctions are viewed as the major driver of Iran's skyrocketing food prices. Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu reports from Tehran, Iran.

NS&I Blocks Early Withdrawals on Savings Account with £22.5bn Invested

THE TELEGRAPH: Change in rules to affect holders of fixed rate certificates

Holders of sought-after NS&I “savings certificates” will not be able to withdraw money before the end of their term, following what experts said was a “big change” in rules.

From July 23, National Savings and Investments customers with maturing fixed-rate certificates – which hold £22.5bn of savers’ cash – will not be able to make a withdrawal once they have decided to renew a certificate.

Previously savers could take money out of their accounts but faced a penalty fee equivalent to 90 days’ interest.

Fixed Interest Savings Certificates, which were pulled from sale for new customers in 2011 but are the oldest accounts offered by NS&I, offer a guaranteed rate for a period of either two or five years.

Currently two-year deals pay 4pc and five-year deals 4.05pc. Unlike other savings accounts, these rates are guaranteed for the term of the certificate but only existing customers can renew. » | Madeleine Ross | Tuesday, July 18, 2023

The eleven savings accounts with the best interest rates for 2023: Discover the market leaders for Isas, bonds, savings and current accounts »

Top Economists Call for Action on Runaway Global Inequality

THE GUARDIAN: Gulf between rich and poor increases risk of climate breakdown as well as entrenches poverty, says letter to UN and World Bank

Failure to tackle the widening gulf between the world’s rich and poor will entrench poverty and increase the risk of climate breakdown, a group of more than 200 leading economists have said.

In a letter to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, and the World Bank president, Ajay Banga, the signatories from 67 countries call on the two bodies to do more to reverse the sharpest increase in global inequality since the second world war.

Those backing the call for action include the former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, New Zealand’s former prime minister Helen Clark and the economists Jayati Ghosh, Joseph Stiglitz and Thomas Piketty. » | Larry Elliott, Economics editor | Monday, July 17, 2023

Twitter Advertising Revenue Halves since Elon Musk Takeover – BBC News

Jul 17, 2023 | Twitter has lost almost half of its advertising revenue since it was bought by Elon Musk last year, its owner has revealed. Musk said the company had not seen the increase in sales it had expected in June, but added that July was a "bit more promising". The tech billionaire bought the social media platform for $44bn (£33.6bn) in October 2022. Rival app Threads now has 150 million users, according to some estimates.

Russland: Waren die Sanktionen umsonst? | NZZ

Jul 12, 2023 | Russland ist eines der am stärksten mit Sanktionen belegten Länder der Welt ist. Rund 750 Sanktionspakete haben westliche Staaten seit dem Angriff auf die Ukraine verhängt. Doch als Privatperson in Russland merkt man davon nur wenig. Unser Russland-Korrespondent Markus Ackeret in Moskau erklärt, warum die Sanktionen dennoch nicht spurlos an Russland vorbeigehen: «Die Sanktionen treffen das Land weniger in dem Sinne, dass jetzt plötzlich die Wirtschaft zusammenbricht oder dass im Alltag die Regale in den Geschäften leer sind. Vor allem ist diese Wirkung aber mittel- und längerfristig. Sie verlangsamen Russlands Entwicklung.»

The Ruble Hits Early War Lows, Extending a Slide That Began After Prigozhin’s Mutiny.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The ruble fell as low as 94 rubles per dollar on Thursday before making a slight recovery by the end of the trading day.

The Russian ruble slid to lows unseen since the weeks after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, amid fallout from the mercenary boss Yevgeny V. Prigozhin’s aborted insurrection and declining Russian oil and gas revenues.

The currency fell as low as 94 rubles per dollar on Thursday before making a slight recovery by the end of the trading day, jolting confidence among Russians, who often interpret the exchange rate as an indicator of the nation’s financial well-being.

The ruble hasn’t seen such lows since March 2022, the month after President Vladimir V. Putin ordered Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and triggered a raft of Western sanctions that briefly sent the country’s economy into a tailspin. » | Paul Sonne | Thursday, July 6, 2023

FTSE 100 Falls to Lowest Closing Level in 2023 as Interest Rate Fears Grip Markets

THE GUARDIAN: Markets suffer on both sides of Atlantic as Fed signals more rate hikes and recession fears grow in UK

Global financial markets fell sharply on Thursday as investors braced for central banks driving interest rates up further to combat high inflation across the world’s leading economies.

Share prices fell on both sides of the Atlantic with the FTSE 100 tumbling by 161 points, or 2.2%, to finish the day at 7,280 – its lowest level since last November – while stocks fell by a similar amount across Europe and by more than 1% in New York.

UK government borrowing costs rose further, extending an increase seen in recent weeks amid concern that the Bank of England may need to engineer the conditions for a recession in order to squeeze high inflation out of the British economy. » | Richard Partington, Economics correspondent | Thursday, July 6, 2023

UK Banks to Meet Finance Regulator as Anger Grows over Savings Rates

THE GUARDIAN: NatWest, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays bosses expected to attend FCA meeting and justify disparity between loan and savings rates

The chief executives of the UK’s largest high street banks will face the City watchdog today amid accusations they are ‘profiteering’ as savings rates offered to customers lag well behind surging borrowing costs.

Bosses including NatWest’s Alison Rose, HSBC UK’s Ian Stuart, Barclays UK’s Matt Hammerstein, and Lloyds Banking Group’s Charlie Nunn, will meet the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as they come under pressure to justify their decision to keep easy access savings rates low, while the cost of loans and mortgages has soared. » | Kalyeena Makortoff, Banking correspondent | Thursday, July 6, 2023