The power of increments: small changes over a long time.
This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution. The communist uprising of 1917 was neither the first nor the last time that the country faced a chance to embrace freedom, yet on each occasion the opportunity has been lost. Are there any grounds to expect genuine change in the future or is the Russian psyche somehow inherently averse to democracy as we know it?
Some £1.2 billion is lost to investment scams every year in the UK. Contrary to popular perception, it is not just the elderly who are susceptible. Experienced investors are often targeted, and the embarrassment of those who fall victim is key to the fact that only 10% of such crimes are reported. We offer some useful warnings and advice.
For the second time in its short but eventful history, the US technology sector has been booming. Will there be another bust? We think growth in the sector is here to stay, but vigilance is required as some valuations start to defy gravity.
Quantitative easing and low interest rates may have helped restore economic stability, but they have failed to deliver meaningful growth. A growing number of economists and policymakers are blaming demographics — we are having too few babies and living too long.
Paying for care in later life is high on the list of many people’s financial worries, and the shifting sands of government policy have only added to the uncertainty.
We are hearing increasing calls that ‘Abenomics’ — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s strategy for economic revival — has failed. We wish to challenge those voices.
EU countries waste an estimated 88 million tonnes of food every year, with UK households accounting for a sizeable proportion of that figure. MEPs recently voted in favour of new regulations to tackle the problem but declined to set binding targets. Is the issue getting the serious attention it deserves, or are policymakers, industries and households alike still merely nibbling around the edges?
Europe has long been seen as the unloved problem child of the developed markets, beset with fiscal problems, threatened with disintegration and unable to escape from chronic underperformance. Now it is the new favourite. But can Europe justify its new-found popularity and higher valuations?