THE GUARDIAN: Total includes 120,000 children, according to thinktank that is calling for anti-poverty strategy
Almost 700,000 people in the UK, including 120,000 children, have been plunged into poverty as a result of the Covid economic crisis, according to a thinktank analysis.
The Legatum Institute also said an additional 700,000 people had been prevented from falling below the breadline by the chancellor’s temporary £20-a-week boost to universal credit, introduced in April to help claimants cope with the extra costs of the pandemic.
Overall, the pandemic has pushed the total number of people in the UK living in poverty to more than 15 million – 23% of the population – according to the institute, which uses poverty measures developed by the independent Social Metrics Commission. » | Patrick Butler, Social policy editor | Monday, November 30, 2020
November 30, 2020
November 28, 2020
Smerconish: Amazon Was Primed for a Pandemic
10 Key Beliefs from the Brain of Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos’ aspirations are not even bound by gravity, as building “a road to space” is among his current preoccupations. How has Bezos positioned Amazon so successfully? Here are 10 credos that sum up the success of Jeff Bezos. » | November 24, 2020
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November 26, 2020
Britain Is Facing Ruin, But Deluded Tories Are Still Refusing to Accept It
THE TELEGRAPH: Rishi Sunak knows the dangers, but his party has embraced a destructive economic illiteracy
Britain is permanently poorer, and the British state weaker, as a result of Covid, the collapse in GDP and the gargantuan debt binge that has kept us going. Our economy is the most socialised it has ever been outside of war, and we have resorted to the printing presses to finance spending in a shockingly unprecedented way, pushing the great fiat money experiment close to breaking point. We will spend a lot more every year even after the virus is gone, which will necessitate tens of billions worth of tax hikes or spending cuts merely to stabilise the debt.
That, in summary, is the economic devastation described or implied by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in what is easily the most terrifying official economic assessment from a developed nation I have ever read. The fact that much of the spending was necessary, that we can “afford” it (in the sense of being able to borrow more), that interest rates are dementedly low and that growth will bounce back with the vaccine, is no consolation. » | Allister Heath | Wednesday, November 25, 2020
That the UK is going ahead with Brexit at this time of national emergency and a once in a century pandemic is both stupid and irresponsible. Brexit was always a ridiculous idea. At this time, when the UK economy is on its beam ends, it is criminal. Also, keeping interest rates as low as they have been for about eleven years is the height of irresponsible management of the economy. BoJo should resign. – © Mark
Britain is permanently poorer, and the British state weaker, as a result of Covid, the collapse in GDP and the gargantuan debt binge that has kept us going. Our economy is the most socialised it has ever been outside of war, and we have resorted to the printing presses to finance spending in a shockingly unprecedented way, pushing the great fiat money experiment close to breaking point. We will spend a lot more every year even after the virus is gone, which will necessitate tens of billions worth of tax hikes or spending cuts merely to stabilise the debt.
That, in summary, is the economic devastation described or implied by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in what is easily the most terrifying official economic assessment from a developed nation I have ever read. The fact that much of the spending was necessary, that we can “afford” it (in the sense of being able to borrow more), that interest rates are dementedly low and that growth will bounce back with the vaccine, is no consolation. » | Allister Heath | Wednesday, November 25, 2020
That the UK is going ahead with Brexit at this time of national emergency and a once in a century pandemic is both stupid and irresponsible. Brexit was always a ridiculous idea. At this time, when the UK economy is on its beam ends, it is criminal. Also, keeping interest rates as low as they have been for about eleven years is the height of irresponsible management of the economy. BoJo should resign. – © Mark
November 24, 2020
'This Long Overdue Transition Is Now Fully, Finally, Completely Under Way' | Andrea Mitchell | MSNBC
Stocks Head for Records as the Transition to a Biden Administration Begins
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Stocks on Wall Street climbed for a second day on Tuesday, buoyed by news that President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. had chosen a former Federal Reserve chair, Janet L. Yellen, to be the next Treasury secretary, and as the Trump administration’s efforts to contest the election were further diminished as several key states certified Mr. Biden’s victory.
The S&P 500 rose about 1.5 percent, and by late morning was trading above its most recent closing record of 3,626.91, reached on Nov. 16. The Dow Jones industrial average rose to a new high, crossing above the 30,000 mark for the first time.
The gains on Tuesday seemed to reflect optimism about the economy, with shares of economically sensitive companies among the best performers. Oil prices also jumped to levels not seen since early March. » | Eshe Nelson | Tuesday, November 24, 2020
The S&P 500 rose about 1.5 percent, and by late morning was trading above its most recent closing record of 3,626.91, reached on Nov. 16. The Dow Jones industrial average rose to a new high, crossing above the 30,000 mark for the first time.
The gains on Tuesday seemed to reflect optimism about the economy, with shares of economically sensitive companies among the best performers. Oil prices also jumped to levels not seen since early March. » | Eshe Nelson | Tuesday, November 24, 2020
November 22, 2020
Trump Slams Paris Climate Accord in His Last G20 Appearance | G20 Riyadh
British Ski Workers ‘Set to Lose Seasonal Jobs’ after Brexit
THE OBSERVER: Instructors, chalet cooks, drivers and nannies among 25,000 who may no longer be eligible to take up posts in EU countries
Adieu to the British seasonaire. Barring an 11th-hour reprieve, Europe’s ski resorts will soon be largely devoid of British seasonal workers.
From 1 January, post-Brexit, British employees seeking seasonal work as chalet hosts, instructors, drivers and nannies in European ski resorts will find it more difficult to obtain work.
“It’s game over unless the government makes an agreement with the EU that will mean there is a way for British staff to work across Europe in the tourism industry on seasonal jobs,” said Charles Owen, director of Seasonal Businesses in Travel (SBiT), which represents many holiday firms.
The trade body claims that up to 25,000 British seasonal worker jobs in the travel industry will be lost, many contracted by UK-based companies. » | Jamie Doward | Sunday, November 22, 2020
Adieu to the British seasonaire. Barring an 11th-hour reprieve, Europe’s ski resorts will soon be largely devoid of British seasonal workers.
From 1 January, post-Brexit, British employees seeking seasonal work as chalet hosts, instructors, drivers and nannies in European ski resorts will find it more difficult to obtain work.
“It’s game over unless the government makes an agreement with the EU that will mean there is a way for British staff to work across Europe in the tourism industry on seasonal jobs,” said Charles Owen, director of Seasonal Businesses in Travel (SBiT), which represents many holiday firms.
The trade body claims that up to 25,000 British seasonal worker jobs in the travel industry will be lost, many contracted by UK-based companies. » | Jamie Doward | Sunday, November 22, 2020
October 30, 2020
Trump's Fake Recovery (w/ Richard Wolff)
October 28, 2020
France Expected to Impose Four-week National Lockdown
THE GUARDIAN: Emmanuel Macron reportedly planning move after record number of new Covid cases
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is expected to impose a new four-week national lockdown to halt the spread of Covid-19, according to French media.
The announcement would follow record numbers of new cases in France that have put pressure on hospitals, and a startling rise in coronavirus deaths.
Macron is due to make a televised address on Wednesday evening after holding a second emergency meeting with government ministers. The prime minister, Jean Castex, also met union leaders and opposition parties to justify the need for stricter measures.
Large swathes of France, including Paris, have been placed under a night-time curfew, but officials say this has not been enough to stop the virus. » | Kim Willshir | Wednesday, October 28, 2020
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is expected to impose a new four-week national lockdown to halt the spread of Covid-19, according to French media.
The announcement would follow record numbers of new cases in France that have put pressure on hospitals, and a startling rise in coronavirus deaths.
Macron is due to make a televised address on Wednesday evening after holding a second emergency meeting with government ministers. The prime minister, Jean Castex, also met union leaders and opposition parties to justify the need for stricter measures.
Large swathes of France, including Paris, have been placed under a night-time curfew, but officials say this has not been enough to stop the virus. » | Kim Willshir | Wednesday, October 28, 2020
October 19, 2020
Lessons on Negative Rates to Be Found Overseas
THE TIMES: If pricing in the money markets is anything to go by, the Bank of England will introduce negative rates in Britain for the first time next year.
It has been no secret in recent months that Threadneedle Street is reviewing how sub-zero rates might be implemented, although Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, has been at pains to emphasise that its work implies nothing about whether policymakers will use the policy tool.
The Bank last week asked commercial lenders for information about whether their systems could cope with negative rates, spurring yet further speculation that it was moving closer to cutting rates below zero.
By charging firms to keep deposits at central banks, the theory behind negative rates is that it encourages commercial banks to lend rather than hoard cash, thereby stimulating the economy.
The Bank will be looking to other countries where negative rates have been deployed to gauge whether they work in practice. » | Gurpreet Narwan, Ben Martin | Monday, October 19, 2020
It has been no secret in recent months that Threadneedle Street is reviewing how sub-zero rates might be implemented, although Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, has been at pains to emphasise that its work implies nothing about whether policymakers will use the policy tool.
The Bank last week asked commercial lenders for information about whether their systems could cope with negative rates, spurring yet further speculation that it was moving closer to cutting rates below zero.
By charging firms to keep deposits at central banks, the theory behind negative rates is that it encourages commercial banks to lend rather than hoard cash, thereby stimulating the economy.
The Bank will be looking to other countries where negative rates have been deployed to gauge whether they work in practice. » | Gurpreet Narwan, Ben Martin | Monday, October 19, 2020
With Covid-19 Under Control, China’s Economy Surges Ahead
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Exports jumped and local governments engaged in a binge of debt-fueled construction projects. Even consumer spending is finally recovering.
BEIJING — As most of the world still struggles with the coronavirus pandemic, China is showing once again that a fast economic rebound is possible when the virus is brought firmly under control.
The Chinese economy surged 4.9 percent in the July-to-September quarter compared with the same months last year, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on Monday. The robust performance brings China almost back up to the roughly 6 percent pace of growth that it was reporting before the pandemic. » | Keith Bradsher | Published, Sunday, October 18, 2020 and Updated Monday, October 19, 2020
BEIJING — As most of the world still struggles with the coronavirus pandemic, China is showing once again that a fast economic rebound is possible when the virus is brought firmly under control.
The Chinese economy surged 4.9 percent in the July-to-September quarter compared with the same months last year, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on Monday. The robust performance brings China almost back up to the roughly 6 percent pace of growth that it was reporting before the pandemic. » | Keith Bradsher | Published, Sunday, October 18, 2020 and Updated Monday, October 19, 2020
October 17, 2020
Brexit ohne Vertrag: Lässt Boris Johnson die Bombe platzen? | DW Nachrichten
UK Credit Rating Downgraded by Moody's amid Growth Concerns
THE GUARDIAN: Ratings agency cites weakening economy, Brexit woes and coronavirus shocks
Credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded Britain’s credit status, citing a decline in economic strength in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and continued Brexit uncertainty.
With the government struggling to contain a second wave and ministers under pressure to sanction extra spending to protect businesses and jobs, Moody’s lowered the UK’s sovereign debt rating by one notch to Aa3 from Aa2.
The ratings agency said it expected that the public finances would worsen as a result of the pandemic, though it expected the overall debt burden to stabilise next year, leading it to drop the “negative outlook” attached to the rating to one of “stable”. » | Phillip Inman | Friday, October 16, 2020
Credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded Britain’s credit status, citing a decline in economic strength in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and continued Brexit uncertainty.
With the government struggling to contain a second wave and ministers under pressure to sanction extra spending to protect businesses and jobs, Moody’s lowered the UK’s sovereign debt rating by one notch to Aa3 from Aa2.
The ratings agency said it expected that the public finances would worsen as a result of the pandemic, though it expected the overall debt burden to stabilise next year, leading it to drop the “negative outlook” attached to the rating to one of “stable”. » | Phillip Inman | Friday, October 16, 2020
October 12, 2020
Le bilan économique de Donald Trump anéanti par le Covid-19
LE MONDE: Editorial. Alors que, fin 2019, les taux de chômage et de pauvreté étaient au plus bas aux Etats-Unis, la crise liée à la pandémie a tout changé. L’économie américaine a besoin d’un plan d’aide, qui est, pour l’heure, bloqué par l’opposition entre républicains et démocrates.
Editorial du « Monde ». Donald Trump fait mine de se réjouir du rebond économique des Etats-Unis : en septembre, la première économie du monde avait recréé 11,4 millions d’emplois, la moitié des 22 millions détruits en mars-avril, lorsque éclata la crise du Covid-19. En réalité, ce chiffre est une catastrophe pour le président sortant : jamais le taux de chômage (7,9 %) n’avait été si élevé à la veille d’une élection présidentielle américaine depuis la deuxième guerre mondiale. Donald Trump a perdu l’un de ses arguments de campagne les plus forts, son bilan économique. » | ÉDITORIAL | lundi 12 octobre 2020
Editorial du « Monde ». Donald Trump fait mine de se réjouir du rebond économique des Etats-Unis : en septembre, la première économie du monde avait recréé 11,4 millions d’emplois, la moitié des 22 millions détruits en mars-avril, lorsque éclata la crise du Covid-19. En réalité, ce chiffre est une catastrophe pour le président sortant : jamais le taux de chômage (7,9 %) n’avait été si élevé à la veille d’une élection présidentielle américaine depuis la deuxième guerre mondiale. Donald Trump a perdu l’un de ses arguments de campagne les plus forts, son bilan économique. » | ÉDITORIAL | lundi 12 octobre 2020
Bank of England Asks Banks If They Are Ready for Negative Interest Rates
THE GUARDIAN: Lenders asked what steps they would take if official borrowing costs were pushed below zero
The Bank of England has moved a step closer to adopting negative interest after writing to banks asking them how ready they would be for the ground-breaking move.
Sam Woods, one of Threadneedle Street’s deputy governors, has asked banks what steps they would need to take in the event that official borrowing costs were pushed below zero.
Woods said: “For a negative bank rate to be effective as a policy tool, the financial sector – as the key transmission mechanism of monetary policy – would need to be operationally ready to implement it in a way that does not adversely affect the safety and soundness of firms.” » | Larry Elliott | Monday, October 12, 2020
The Bank of England has moved a step closer to adopting negative interest after writing to banks asking them how ready they would be for the ground-breaking move.
Sam Woods, one of Threadneedle Street’s deputy governors, has asked banks what steps they would need to take in the event that official borrowing costs were pushed below zero.
Woods said: “For a negative bank rate to be effective as a policy tool, the financial sector – as the key transmission mechanism of monetary policy – would need to be operationally ready to implement it in a way that does not adversely affect the safety and soundness of firms.” » | Larry Elliott | Monday, October 12, 2020
October 08, 2020
While Millions Lost Jobs, Some Executives Made Millions in Company Stock
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Even as millions of people have lost their jobs during the pandemic, the soaring stock market since the spring has delivered outsize gains to the wealthiest Americans. And few among the superrich have done as well as corporate executives who received stock awards this year. » | Peter Eavis | Thursday, October 8, 2020
October 01, 2020
Amazon, Jeff Bezos and Collecting Data | DW Documentary
No company stores more data than Amazon, the former online bookseller. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has become the richest man in the world. Every second Euro in online trading is spent at Amazon. Is the IT giant, with its unabated growth, about to turn our economic system upside down?
Amazon is a machine that can simultaneously observe, compare and analyze more than 300 million people worldwide. The company is not just a marketplace, market supervisor and provider of more and more services and consumer items - it also controls all the data streams in this market and uses them to its own benefit. Who suspects that a single click on an Amazon page will forward information to the company that fills a printed DIN-A-4 page? A conversation with Alexa, watching a streaming offer on Amazon-Prime, ordering vegetables via Amazon-Fresh - all this put together creates a whole library of information about every customer. The group collects everything - it just won’t reveal what conclusions it draws from it. What would be possible if data from other, new business areas were added? In the USA, Amazon is also active in the health and insurance sectors, and police officers are using its facial recognition software to search for wanted persons.
Amazon is a machine that can simultaneously observe, compare and analyze more than 300 million people worldwide. The company is not just a marketplace, market supervisor and provider of more and more services and consumer items - it also controls all the data streams in this market and uses them to its own benefit. Who suspects that a single click on an Amazon page will forward information to the company that fills a printed DIN-A-4 page? A conversation with Alexa, watching a streaming offer on Amazon-Prime, ordering vegetables via Amazon-Fresh - all this put together creates a whole library of information about every customer. The group collects everything - it just won’t reveal what conclusions it draws from it. What would be possible if data from other, new business areas were added? In the USA, Amazon is also active in the health and insurance sectors, and police officers are using its facial recognition software to search for wanted persons.
Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos (Full Film) | FRONTLINE
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