Markets & Industries
Britain Closed The Last Deep Coal Mine - 12/21/2015
On Friday, the last coal mine in England stopped work. London refused to subsidize miners because of falling demand for coal. In 2014, Britain produced 12 million tons of coal, which is 25 times less than a hundred years ago. Friday, December 18 was the last working day of the mine Kellingley in the English county of North York. No working deep coal mines remains after its closure in the UK....
Super Saturday Surpassed "Black Friday". Holiday Sales in the US are Close to $ 140 Billion - 12/21/2015
Observations on consumers’ activity during holiday sales from Thanksgiving to Christmas showed that Americans are willing to spend an average of $ 630 on purchase gifts and holiday merchandise. The total sum numbers $ 140 billion. Once again, Super Saturday - latest before Christmas - brings particularly significant contribution to the sales. Traditional holiday sales season, which usually opens...
Saxo Bank's "Outrageous" Predictions for 2016: Trump's Victory and Sky-High Oil Prices - 12/16/2015
Danish Saxo Bank has released its annual forecast "Outrageous" 2016 predictions, trying to predict what will happen in 2016. The bank’s analysts believe that in the next year oil quotes will once again return to the value of $ 100 per barrel because of panic in OPEC. Venture capitalists will stop Unicorn hunting, Donald Trump will lead to the Republicans collapse, and the Olympic Games in Brazil...
Uber Syndrome: How New Technologies are Killing Business - 12/11/2015
Corporations are in danger. Any time, you may face a competitor with a very different business model, which will crush a sustainable business. Is it possible to avoid it? IBM team annually conducts individual interviews with senior executives, including general managers, marketing directors, CFOs, CIOs. These investigations have been carried out since 2009, with purpose to track trends and...
Technological Startups Stuck Starting - 12/09/2015
Many high-tech start-ups has recently preferred to stay private companies as long as possible, engaging huge sums of money in successive rounds of financing. However, say analysts at the venture division of Google, the investors mood is changing and it is possible that owners of many start-ups will soon regret relying on the booming market private investment and not holding IPO. "These companies...
Stocks of US Weapons Companies Jumped in Price Triggered by Terror - 12/08/2015
Stocks of US manufacturers of small arms showed significant growth despite the general decline in the stock market. The reason for the weapons rally was the latest mass shooting that occurred in the US in early December. The incident is qualified as a terrorist act. On Monday, December 7, stock indices Dow Jones, S&P 500 and NASDAQ showed a negative trend, losing an average of about 1%....
Saudi Arabia Announced Condition of Reducing Oil Production - 12/03/2015
Saudi Arabia, OPEC's informal leader, is ready to cut oil production, provided that the same obligations will be incur by members of the cartel and those countries that are not included in the organization. Saudi Arabia, the informal leader of OPEC, has expressed its readiness to support a reduction in oil production. The country is ready to take such measures if other members of the cartel, such...
Car Sales in the US Head November Records - 12/02/2015
Usually, November sales of cars in the United States are weak. Yet, according to research firm Autodata Corp., this time, producers have raised in the belief that the year can be completed with record figures. According to a research published by US firm Autodata Corp., car sales in the US in November, was not as sluggish as usual this month. The reason for this were lower gasoline prices,...
The Chinese Renminbi Gets Into the IMF Currency Basket - 12/01/2015
The Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday approved inclusion of renminbi in the list of reserve currencies with a share of 10.92%. The currency’s neighbors are the US dollar, euro, British pound and Japanese yen. Each regulator will make its own decisions on renminbi to be included in its foreign exchange reserves. Overall, experts forecast that increase of the...
China Is On the Way to an Open Electricity Market - 11/30/2015
China has announced that its plans to terminate the state electricity distribution companies’ monopoly, allowing end-users themselves to discuss the price directly with generating companies. The website of the main state economic planning agency announced that Chinese generating companies will be able to sell electricity to consumers through regional trade platform. Under this plan, companies...