Columns

Holding: Are white-collar prosecutors going soft?

19 August 2019

That’s the implication of declining U.S. demand for defense lawyers. It’s possible corporate America is finally behaving itself. More likely, though, the dearth of cases against banks and other companies means enforcers are both turning a blind eye and chasing different prey.

Cox: Let’s just get on with the recession already

16 August 2019

After the longest unbroken recovery following the severest financial crisis in generations, markets are super-jittery about a possible slowdown. But with few exceptions (G’day Australia), resets are normal. They can curb unhealthy excesses, preventing bigger problems later.

Hadas: Power shifts from analysts to lobbyists

7 August 2019

Spreadsheet pros understand company and industry trends which used to matter for stock prices. These days investors are more concerned with big-picture changes in geopolitics, economics, regulation and even the climate. Perhaps analysts should reinvent themselves as powerbrokers.

Hadas: Gratuities reach an economic tipping point

31 July 2019

Customers like to reward good service. But food delivery service DoorDash’s now-abandoned policy of pocketing tips shows how generosity has become subservient to optimising profit. Fairer wages and clearer prices might work better.

Cox: A mall and gold mine are key to Greek revival

30 July 2019

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sees growth as a panacea for the Hellenic Republic’s ills. His new government is unblocking long-stalled projects to generate jobs and attract foreign direct investment. Never has a shopping centre been so important to the cradle of democracy.

Hadas: U.S. slavery reparations might just work

24 July 2019

In terms of race, American society remains stubbornly separate and unequal 155 years after abolition. Much of the economy still works as if racial attitudes had not changed. One way to reduce the black-white social gap is a womb-to-tomb campaign of well-targeted incentives.

Hadas: Peaceful trade theory ominously unravels

17 July 2019

From 18th century enthusiasm for “doux commerce” to the WTO, optimists have considered trade a good antidote to combat. From the Opium Wars to Trump’s tariffs, reality has been much more conflictual. The latest round of globalisation isn’t quite dead, but is badly wounded.

Hadas: Bond markets lost in inflation-growth gap

10 July 2019

Changing growth expectations explain most daily movements in bond prices, while falling inflation parallels the long-term trend of declining yields. Every so often, however, market gyrations reflect hopes that growth and inflation will reconnect. There’s little sign of that.

Cox: Parisian elite’s offsite exposes fractures

8 July 2019

The annual gathering of French government, business and economic bigwigs in Aix revealed a political class struggling to deal with China, Trump and Big Tech. But French firms exude international ambition and benefit from globalisation. Reconciling the two will be tricky.

Dixon: Bold PM can bring virtuous circle to Greece

3 July 2019

Liberal conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to replace leftist Alexis Tsipras as prime minister after Sunday’s election. If he roots out the bad practices that have bedevilled Greece for decades, the country could finally enjoy an investment-led recovery.