Saturday 25 May 2013
It looks like the bulls are going to have to get back in their pen while the bears take charge again. Such a bearish opener comes after the International Monetary Fund put its size tens into the growing feeling that we're on the road to recovery.
The furore surrounding the fact that big businesses goes to great lengths to reduce its tax bill could be viewed as slightly baffling
Just when we thought the green shoots of recovery had wilted, been clamped in a silo and turned to silage, the one and only Mervyn King steps forward to sprinkle his magic dust over the UK economy.
You can tell it's going to be a big announcement when the combined journalist, security and civil servant gathering generates something of a party atmosphere.
Early mornings are apparently when the most efficient and effective work gets done, or so I was told as a lackadaisical teenager with a penchant to lie-ins.
IT'S that time of the month when business desks like ours get bombarded with lots of data.
Henry Kelly used to tell us to go for gold but today you could be forgiven for thinking you missed that boat.
It's said that trying to find the bottom of a bear market is a fool's game. But, when you've experienced one of the most prolonged periods of economic contraction in a lifetime, you need to do something to wash away the pessimism.
As the dust starts to settle on Budget day, there's time to reflect on how Chancellor George Osborne's hour in the spotlight will really affect us in Northern Ireland.
The subject of integrated education can, understandably, be an emotional one which attracts plenty of debate.
While the news of a drop in earnings for Bombardier might come as something of a shock, the results aren't a great worry.
The trouble with data is that by the time you get to make sense of it, it's out of date. That means any economic data is reflecting a historical point.
The pound in your pocket is getting metaphorically lighter. In a strange twist of fate the value of sterling and the success of Northern Ireland companies is being both helped and hindered by the German economy, one which is has shaken off the last vestiges of recession and is now bristling along in fifth gear.
On the subject of jobs, the news of 3,700 posts going at Barclays is a chilling reminder that the difficult days of recession are far from over.
Sometimes its hard to get excited about business dinners but sometimes, just sometimes, the guest speaker can add a frisson of intrigue.
Apparently US billionaire John Malone is in talks to buy Richard Branson's cable company Virgin Media.
If you believe what the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is saying then we shouldn't be complaining when it comes to filling up with fuel.
As one who is forced to fill up the car with fuel far too often than I'd like, the price of crude oil has quietly climbed to a four-and-a-half month high, according to a learned statistician.
Northern Ireland needs to embrace entrepreneurial spirit and have a long-term vision to battle its way out of economic gloom, according to a leading international businessman.
Where to begin? The idea that there may be commercially viable quantities of crude oil within Northern Ireland's land territory holds so many possibilities that it's hard to know where to begin.
Most children's money habits have been formed by the time they reach the age of seven, research from a Government-backed body has found.
The aptly-named Skoda Superb is the car that owners are most satisfied with, according to a survey. And another Skoda model – the Yeti – was second on the list compiled from owners' views by What Car? and JD Power and Associates. Third was the Jaguar XF, with equal fourth place occupied by the Citroen DS3 and the Lexus RX .
Halfords has warned of a long uphill slog to recovery as profits tumbled by 22% and its dividend was slashed by a third to pay for a £100m revamp. New chief executive Matt Davies pledged to refresh tired-looking stores and improve customer service over the next three years but warned that earnings were unlikely to recover until 2016.
Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce has welcomed Paul McMahon as its newly elected president.
The UK's return to growth has been underlined as revised figures confirmed the dominant services sector helped the economy expand by 0.3% in the first three months of the year.
TWO of the FTSE's biggest bosses have banked rather different pay packets, it has been revealed.
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