Economics

By Ikràn M.Omar @IkranM Despite Africa's long prophesied ascension as the next economic powerhouse there are still questions to be answered on whether this could ever materialise. The main question is whether it is a safe and solid investment. To invest in anything there needs to be a prospect of a strong return. You can never to be too cautious when entering any market let alone an emerging one. As Africa ascends she is showing exciting growth that is attracting many investors....

By Rohan Chatterjee @RohanChatterje1 China’s exponential growth has brought it to the doorsteps of geographically separated and historically disconnected, Latin America and is fast on way to becoming a key trade partner and surpassing the United States as the continent’s most important economic partner. The key driver behind China’s expansion into Latin America is relatively simple: its growing demand for raw materials. Latin America not only offers the desired resources but also a potential market of 500 million people to...

By Robert Sun America is in danger of becoming the world’s first “derivative economy.” Once renowned around the world for our prodigious ability to manufacture, invent, and revolutionize, the U.S. is becoming a place where pastimes take precedence, image is king, and quick money is the goal. Eighty years ago, banking profits accounted for less than 5% of all U.S. corporate profit. In recent years they peaked at around 40%. College graduates are lured with the promise of making big...

By Valentina Magri All that glitters is not gold. ONS data released on August 13th for the second quarter of 2014 shows that Britain currently enjoys a record low unemployment rate at 6.4 per cent and an increase in employment (+167,000 persons). The jobs market seems to also be improving for youngsters aged 16-24; their unemployment rate fell from 19 to 16.9 per cent. In addition, the British economy is in better shape than any of its other European counterparts,...

By Jack Peat I never imagined myself as someone who would begin a sentence "back in my day". It's the sort of cringe-worthy prelude you'd hear your parents or grandparents utter which meant for most children they’re either about to be bored by irrelevant nostalgia or lectured on traditional values, often both. But since the turn of the century we have witnessed such seismic change that I feel obliged to tell you, that back in my day, things were a...

By Luke Lang, co-founder Crowdcube For many British businesses, raising finance has become increasingly difficult in more austere times with banks, VCs and other financial institutions reigning in their lending. In fact, raising money is difficult at the best of times, which has led startups and growth businesses to seek alternatives. Crowdfunding is still a relatively new concept, which has seen its popularity grow since around 2011 when the likes of Crowdfunder and Kickstarter first appeared in the headlines. In...

David Landon Cole The bitcoin - a currency based on a hash function - is often touted as the future and a recent article on The London Economic buys into that. I have a few objections with the piece that I'd like to look at. The premise for the article is an unattributed post on Reddit. The post claims that the US Federal Reserve commissioned research internally into the bitcoin, suggesting that it would overtake the mighty greenback between 2021...

By Vladimir Remmer The world financial equilibrium was devastated in 2006 when the US housing market bubble finally burst. Real Estate prices plummeted, wiping out securities tied to housing and striking financial institutions globally. The human toll was staggering and manifested in mass evictions, bankruptcies and foreclosures, combined with catastrophic job market contraction and prolonged unemployment. The consumer wealth adjustment, estimated to be trillions of US dollars, inhibited economic activity throughout most of the world and led to the 2008...

By J T Coombes www.globalmagnacarta.com @GMagnaCarta I have just arranged a holiday abroad. To help with my decision making I went on a virtual trip to look around the place, courtesy of Google, investigating the towns, restaurants (plus their menus!) and places of interest that are 1,700 miles and four hours flying time away. I also had a video call to the owner of the place where we are staying to fine tune transfers and other ‘hygiene’ details. The internet...