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									 <description><![CDATA[  Justin Urquhart Stewart  is one of the most recognisable and trusted market commentators on television, radio, and in the press. Originally trained as a lawyer, he has observed a unique understanding of the market&#8217;s roles and benefits for the private investor. Having trained as a barrister, Justin took up international corporate finance, working in both Africa and Singapore then back in the UK. This led Justin to help found Broker Services in 1986, which went on to become Barclays Stockbrokers where he was Corporate Development Director. In early 2001, he co-founded  Seven Investment Management  (7IM). ]]></description>		<language>en-uk</language>
										<pubDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:29:54 CST</pubDate>
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										</image><item><title>Wait a minute – maybe all is not what it seems</title><description><![CDATA[ As even our leaders seem to be somewhat bemused as to whether we are actually in a recession or depression, it is therefore quite understandable that most of the public are at least confused if not actually extremely nervous about what is going on. Thanks Gordon for that!  There is of course a careful balance here between pointing out the real dangers that are out there in the global economy, and the fact that we are in a cycle. It is of course hardly surprising that people are so worried with ranting headlines of gloom and doom as well as certain commentators giving us a regular feed of poisonous sound bites. Also if you insist on putting on peoples&#8217; television screens three times a night a red arrow bouncing downwards before finally crashing into the floor, then it is almost inevitable that most of us will receive a clear subliminal message that we are in deep trouble.  The fact is that in a recession not everyone loses their job.&#160; Yes some very unfortunately do, and this does]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:49:13 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/wait-a-minute-maybe-all-is-not-what-it-seems</guid></item><item><title>“Hard Pounding, gentlemen:</title><description><![CDATA[  but we shall see who can pound the longest&quot;.    Wellingtonat Waterloo, 1815.   &#160;  There has been much conjecture on the future of the Euro, particularly as it has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. The arguments have varied from the Europhobes dancing like demented demons trying to conjure up its final demise, through to fanatical Pan-European Esperanto speakers evangelising on the potential glories of a &#8220;Euro Reich&#8221; (probably the wrong term). The truth is that despite its critics the Euro has not only survived but in fact prospered to a great extent and is now regarded as one of the world&#8217;s reserve currencies &#8211; a title that Sterling is struggling to retain (only some 4% of global reserves now, and considerably less than the Euro).  The benefits of a single currency area have certainly given members greater transparency of costs, which is something that we on our island have always suffered from. The growth in cross-border trade has also been significant as]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:52:55 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/hard-pounding-gentlemen-but-we-shall-see-who-can-pound-the-longest</guid></item><item><title>Life below Zero</title><description><![CDATA[ The actual importance of interest rates at these levels frankly has all the relevance of two follically challenged men bickering over a comb. Last week&#8217;s UK rate cut may have been of some use in filling up news time but served little, other than to distract attention away from some of the other more pressing issues which our financial and political leaders need to be addressing.  The reality of course is that rates have reached a base level where costs of loans and mortgages in effect can&#8217;t get much lower and, whilst reducing the costs for borrowers - and especially mortgage holders - can ease the pressure on the indebted, just cutting rates on its own is a very simplistic tool if you are trying to re-ignite the economy.  First of all this policy directly excludes a much larger, and some would say far more responsible, constituency of people who have prudently obeyed all the rules and responsibilities as good citizens &#8211; and saved their money. Ordinary cash savers, who are]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:05:08 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/life-below-zero</guid></item><item><title>Nationalisation at Christmas</title><description><![CDATA[ Given the desperate state of the UK economy, the Government has decided to introduce some exceptional measures and to extend its nationalisation plans. It has proposed that it needs to have a greater and direct involvement and to take more prescriptive decisions with regard to the potential recovery in the economy. Despite huge amounts of money having been injected into the banks for both capital and lending, it still seems that many are still proving somewhat recalcitrant in passing the money out. With a lower level of lending both corporately and personally, including mortgages, the speed of monetary spending has slowed up dramatically. Therefore something must be done.  Dramatic times need dramatic actions say the Government and certainly their latest proposals fulfil that statement. For this year only direct Government intervention has been introduced by Orders in Council so that the effect can be felt immediately.   The proposals fall into various categories:-    &#160;    Retail economic]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 28 Dec 2008 9:48:31 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/nationalisation-at-christmas</guid></item><item><title>What a Silly Measure</title><description><![CDATA[ The FTSE 100 index is generally a rotten measure of investment success. Over the decades it has been made up of a hotch potch of various companies and sectors which have come and gone as regularly as an estuary tide. As it is isn&#8217;t weighted, but rather measured by capitalisation, this means that the index is in effect dominated by a few giants which tend to &#8220;bully&#8221; the index to reflect their valuations, leaving the smaller minnows with little or no influence. Oh and just to be perverse it doesn&#8217;t even have 100 companies in it! (Currently 102.)    As an index, though, it has now assumed a position of authority which it probably doesn&#8217;t deserve. The evening news will at some stage always mention the index and its direction up or down will influence the tone and demeanour of the newsreader. Any movement down is obviously a &#8220;bad day in the City&#8221; and any upside movement almost greeted with relief. This somewhat simplistic approach to the FTSE 100 often]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 14 Dec 2008 5:26:26 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/what-a-silly-measure</guid></item><item><title>After hating the 8 – watch out for the malign 9</title><description><![CDATA[ Beware of consensus &#8211; it is often an excuse for complacency. However, when looking at 2009 there seems to be a growing consensus that it&#8217;s going to be a year of recession &#8211; you may have &#8220;hated the 8&#8221; but now prepare for the &#8220;malign 9&#8221;.  So what will this actually mean? The indicators of the real economy &#8211; by which I mean actual comments from business people around the country &#8211; seem to show that the slowdown has not been coming at a gentle pace. For some months I had been hearing comforting words that there had been no real effect so far, but that there was a nervous feeling that was becoming more pervasive and that the ice we had been skating on was getting ever thinner.  In fact it would seem, that there have been an increasing number of instances where there have been sudden shudders of businesses feeling the ice cracking as a result of their turnover quite dramatically falling off.&#160; The days of old supply chains slowly feeling]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2008 5:35:28 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/after-hating-the-8-watch-out-for-the-malign-9</guid></item><item><title>Some Chipped China?</title><description><![CDATA[ We are by now quite used to those more descriptive Chinese expressions and terminology &#8211; they often seem to come with references to wildlife and nature as well as often with a more Confucian style. Most recently though, this illustrative style seems to have been replaced with a more blatant and blunt language which reflects the more difficult economic situations that this nation is now facing. The authorities have most recently taken to describing the country&#8217;s employment outlook as just &#8220;grim&#8221; &#8211; a very un-oriental description. It seems that urban unemployment has been increasing significantly as demand for exported goods have fallen back, and this now puts the administration into a very awkward situation.  This changed financial environment is a new and disappointing world for the Chinese authorities. Until now the unofficial &#8220;deal&#8221; has been quite straightforward &#8211; &#8220;yes you can leave the farmland and come to the cities and work hard]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2008 5:05:04 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/some-chipped-china</guid></item><item><title>Spend Spend Spend – Please!</title><description><![CDATA[ And so the cry goes up &#8211; &#8220;tax cuts &#8211; give them the money and they will spend our way out of this recession&#8221;.&#160; Oh the power of popular mantra.&#160; With all of the forward thinking of an excited Tigger on speed, the politicians of the world seem wide eyed with excitement in the hope that they have found the answer to economic alchemy and the end to our economic recession.&#160;&#160; All you have to do is give the plebs some of their tax back and they will go out and spend it on shiny trinkets and electronic dobbins, with the result being just enough to spark a national recovery in our economy with greater sales revenue, more sales tax, rising company profits, more employment, and save the Pound.&#160; So that&#8217;s done then &#8211; well maybe not.  Merely giving money back to people does not automatically result in spending.&#160; If consumers are nervous, they are far more likely to sit on their hands.&#160; After all, look at the Japanese who were]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 3:57:44 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/spend-spend-spend-please</guid></item><item><title>Blowing the Tanks</title><description><![CDATA[ It feels a bit like the scene in that iconic German film &#8220;Das Boot&#8221; when the submarine commander orders all the tanks to be blown in a vain effort to try and stop the damaged U-boat from sinking.&#160; One by one all the levers are pulled and one by one their effect is negated by the weight of the sinking vessel.&#160; I am sorry if this is a rather negative analogy to the current situation but with each day that goes by, we hear of yet another initiative from one country or another pulling their economic levers to desperately attempt to fortify the failing strength of their economies.&#160; In the past week, the Chinese, the Americans and the Australians have all been acting but with seemingly little actual effect on events or sentiment.  Now to be fair, such actions rarely have an immediate effect but the flurry of action, whilst encouraging to see, does sometimes smack of desperation as politicians and central bankers rush along pulling every lever available to try and get]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 1:53:56 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/blowing-the-tanks</guid></item><item><title>“If you go down to the Woods (Bretton) today...</title><description><![CDATA[  ... you are sure of a big surprise.&quot;   This week the meeting of the &quot;G20&quot; in Washington on the 15th has the opportunity to be an extremely important event. Although some have tagged it as the opportunity to create a new &quot;Bretton Woods&quot; international agreement for a new financial world order, the reality is going to be considerably less but nonetheless the meeting is still going to be vital. As we fumble our way through this financial fiasco, at least our leaders have realised just how internationally linked and inter-dependent we all are. Thus a meeting of the 20 including the likes of China, India and Russia, is far more realistic than the older cosy club of post WW2 capitalists.  However, the meeting must not be a waste of time as this crisis has now spread like some hideous cancer to affect even those more stable and well run emerging nations. Now is the time for a clear message of international collaboration and co&#8208;ordination to show that a powerful]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 07 Nov 2008 9:29:21 CST</pubDate><guid>http://old.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/if-you-go-down-to-the-woods-bretton-today-you-are-sure-of-a-big-surprise</guid></item></channel></rss>
