http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/?service=Rss http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-what-would-the-fashionable-investor-do-now-when-desperate-for-returns-866956.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-what-would-the-fashionable-investor-do-now-when-desperate-for-returns-866956.html <p>Faced with an unfortunate rise in inflation and financial markets with a bad case of indigestion, what does the wise investor do? The old-fashioned, 1970s-style, wise investor would probably sell his entire government bond portfolio and, instead, buy so-called "real" assets which are directly linked to the performance of the economy. Thumbs up, then, for property, commodities and equities. </p> Stephen King Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-its-time-for-the-central-banks-to-take-a-lesson-in-emerging-market-economics-861355.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-its-time-for-the-central-banks-to-take-a-lesson-in-emerging-market-economics-861355.html <p>Despite all the talk of globalisation, mutual economic dependency and trade linkages, policymakers spend too much time focusing on the domestic minutiae and not enough on the really big international stories which determine our economic destinies. I know this because, like anyone else, I can log on to central bank websites and get a flavour of policymakers' concerns. The Federal Reserve and the Bank of England publish minutes of their regular policy pow-wows. Their discussions too often suggest the non-G7 world simply doesn't exist.</p> Stephen King Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-what-if-the-bank-has-lost-its-magic-856996.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-what-if-the-bank-has-lost-its-magic-856996.html <p>Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, told the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee last Thursday that "a change in the prices of food and energy relative to other prices can't by itself produce sustained inflation unless we allow other prices and wages to rise at a faster rate".</p> Stephen King Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-what-if-the-bank-has-lost-its-magic-857700.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-what-if-the-bank-has-lost-its-magic-857700.html <p>Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, told the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee last Thursday that "a change in the prices of food and energy relative to other prices can't by itself produce sustained inflation unless we allow other prices and wages to rise at a faster rate".</p> Stephen King Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-pay-restraint-punk-economics-852390.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-king/stephen-king-pay-restraint-punk-economics-852390.html <p>Are we heading back to the 1970s? It all depends. As with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (a relic of the 1970s), the answer cannot be understood without, first of all, understanding the meaning of the question. </p> Stephen King Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:01 +0100