The outbreak of COVID-19 left few parts of the global economy untouched, with national governments struggling to coordinate swift responses. A multi-trillion dollar stimulus package in the United States, and further measures from governments around the world, spurred equities over the week, leading to record gains.
Category: The United Kingdom
Market Spice: The Disease and the Cure
Market Spice: Week of 16 March 2020 Governments moved globally to combat the spread of the coronavirus, and to mitigate the effects of these measures on their economies. Uncertainty about the duration of the outbreak, and the policies halting social and economic activity used to combat it, produced a painful week for markets. Goldman Sachs…
Market Spice: A Supply Chain is as Strong as its Weakest Link
By Delany Higgins Market Spice: Week of March 2nd, 2020 The spread of COVID-19 caused further volatility in markets this week, with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warning that the outbreak could halve global economic growth for the year. The OECD cut their global forecast to as low as 1.5%, from 2.9% prior…
Market Spice: Week of February 24th, 2020
Global markets suffered dramatically over the course of the week as traders assessed the potential damage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. On Thursday, a spokesperson from the International Monetary Fund warned that it was likely to downgrade its forecasts from global growth.
The How-to Guide on Eliminating Education Disparity in the UK
By Jurin Katayama Income inequality is the biggest challenge that the UK’s education sector faces today. From law, politics, medicine and journalism, 39% of the top positions in these fields are dominated by the 7% of the total British population that has been lucky enough to afford and receive private education. Upper-class parents are more…
How to Strangle a Student Town’s Economy—The St Andrews Housing Market
By Ryan Morrice There are few institutions better for a small town’s economy than a centuries-old world-renowned university. Businesses can expand over time, but they can also go bust. People can migrate to a town, boosting demand for local goods and services, but they can also leave, causing a slow irreversible decline. A university, on…
Market Spice: Week of February 10th
Week of February 10th, 2020 Delany Higgins Asia In China, the CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite Indexes rose moderately, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed slightly down. Due to new measurement techniques, China announced over 14,800 additional cases of COVID-19, though the rate of spread appeared to be decreasing. China-U.S. relations faltered again after last week’s…
Market Spice: Global Markets Catch Coronavirus
Week of January 27th, 2020 Delany Higgins Asia The impacts of coronavirus, declared a global health emergency on Thursday by the WHO, have spread far beyond China. Roughly 10,000 cases were reported before the end of the week. Hong Kong stocks sank, but with the emergence of some positive economic data, including on Chinese manufacturing,…
Market Spice: This Week’s Roundup
Week of January 20th, 2020 Delany Higgins Asia The coronavirus outbreak caused the most substantial single-day decline in Chinese stocks in the past eight months, with the Shanghai Composite Index losing 3.8% over the course of the week. Japanese stocks fell, though the yen strengthened somewhat. Japanese exports have been falling, and it is unclear…
The Mesut Ozil Controversy: How Arsenal’s Response Explains Politics in Modern Sports
By Charlie Whiteley China’s strict censorship policy has again challenged the values of a major global brand. Arsenal Football Club player Mesut Ozil recently spoke out against the Chinese treatment of Uighur Muslims on Twitter, landing both Ozil and Arsenal in serious trouble with the Chinese government. China’s response has been characteristically swift and efficient, with Arsenal…
The Poor Opposition Parties of Scotland
The next general election is a few weeks away and the dominant party in Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP), look set for another strong performance. Polls predict they will take a majority of seats in Scotland again.
The Ulterior Motives Behind Boris Johnson’s Winter Election
Boris Johnson has laid down the gauntlet to Jeremy Corbyn, challenging the Labour leader to a general election in December. This is the first time that a general election has occurred in the month of December since 1923. Yet the PM is prepared to take such an unprecedented step and depart from the usual springtime electoral season as he, like his predecessor
