Cop29: Indigenous communities still being sold short as the world decides how to regulate carbon markets: dee karen/Shutterstock As the annual UN climate conference, Cop29, draws to a close, negotiators, civil society observers and activists are staying up late, poring over draft texts that will determine how the international community addresses climate change for years …
There will be more elections in 2024 than ever before – here’s how it could affect financial markets: Rishi Sunak, the UK prime minister, has indicated that the upcoming UK election will not be until the second half of 2024, but this is just the tip of the iceberg for polling activity in the coming …
How community markets for all could be a sustainable alternative to food banks: Troyan/Shutterstock The number of people using food banks in the UK has increased from 26,000 in 2008-09 to more than 100 times that in 2023. Nearly one in five British households experienced moderate to severe food insecurity in September 2022. In the …
Food safety policy neglects informal markets in developing countries – 3 ways this can change: The informal sector poses great challenges for food safety. Steven Jaffee The food industry in many low- and middle-income countries is dominated by the informal sector. Numerous micro and small businesses, which are not legally registered and mostly compete on …
Chickens from live poultry markets in Nigeria could be bad for your health – scientists explain why: Antimicrobial use in poultry is threatening the health of consumers in Nigeria. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images Many livestock farmers treat their animals with antimicrobial medications. These are drugs that target bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. But …
Autumn statement 2022: this budget may not cause Truss-level chaos but it could still provoke markets: Rishi Sunak's government is set to deliver its first budget statement on November 17 2022. I T S / Shutterstock Liz Truss’s short-lived government presided over an even shorter-lived economic experiment in “Trussonomics”. As investors responded to September’s mini-budget …
US midterms: why gambling markets often predict elections more accurately than polls: Polls Vs betting on who will win control of Congress. Andychi/Shutterstock This year’s US midterms are on a razor’s edge. In the summer it appeared the US supreme court’s ruling on abortion and some legislative successes – most notably Build Back Better, a …
Emergency budget announcement: expert reaction to new UK chancellor’s attempt to calm financial markets: Newly installed UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has unveiled a raft of changes to Kwasi Kwarteng’s September 23 mini-budget, which essentially amounted to a rollback on most of its headline points. The September mini-budget, which included £45 billion in unfunded tax cuts, …
Only a U-turn by the government or the Bank of England will calm UK financial markets: The Bank of England has promised to take action to calm the financial market mayhem that has followed the announcement of major tax cuts by the UK government. The Bank plans to temporarily buy whatever quantity of long-term debt …
Why Black Wednesday still matters – it was the start of markets telling politicians what to do: I spent Black Wednesday – the day the markets successfully bet against the power of the British government to prop up the pound sterling – on the 28th floor of Dresdner Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt. I had just …
Russian debt default: two experts explain what it means for Russia and for global financial markets: Russia’s recent default on its foreign debt – it’s first since 1918 – has been hailed as proof that the sanctions imposed by western governments since the invasion of Ukraine in February are working. A 30-day grace period on …
Kenyan pastoralists: how changing livestock markets could reduce conflict: Livestock buyers and sellers should co-design markets to address common needs. Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images Over nine million Kenyans are pastoralists out of a total population of 50 million. Together they hold livestock worth over US$ 1 billion. Livestock is their source of food, health, …
A cool Cape Town image: Musical performers in Cape Town Markets Image by Arthur Chapman Young Musical performers and dancers at the Greenmarket Square Markets, Cape Town, South Africa. Photographed on 16 June 2012. ©© Audrey Bendus with permission. Image automatically curated and published by www.free-mail.co.za – CLICK HERE to learn more about WP Robot …
Ukraine and the financial markets: the winners and losers so far: Making sense of the reds and the greens. Standret It’s two weeks since the world woke up to the dreadful news of a Russian attack to Ukraine. Notwithstanding the incalculable costs in terms of human lives, as well as human capital and physical infrastructure, …
Ukraine: world financial markets have not broken sweat since the Russian escalation – why?: The economic consequences of armed conflicts have received widespread attention at least as far back as when John Meynard Keynes wrote about them in 1919 in relation to the first world war. Yet as the world braces for a possible war in …
Stock markets have been a one-way bet for many years thanks to the ‘Fed put’ – but those days are over: The prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have sent the markets into a tailspin, compounding fears around inflation that have been building over the past few months. The S&P 500 is trading at …
Humans vs AI: here’s who’s better at making money in financial markets: AI is all about analysing huge amounts of data so why isn't it used more in trading? Fit Ztudio/Shutterstock Artificial Intelligence (AI) has now closely matched or even surpassed humans in what were previously considered unattainable areas. These include chess, arcade games, Go, …
How COVID affected markets and livelihoods in Kenya’s fisheries sector: Fishermen weigh a basket full of fish off the Indian ocean's archipelago of Lamu on Kenya's coast. Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images Fisheries support the livelihoods and well-being of millions of people around the world. Before the COVID pandemic, global fisheries production had reached a …