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Three surprises that could inflame commodity markets in 2024

A s Russia continues to pound Kyiv, Western sanctions are beginning to cripple Arctic LNG 2, the aggressor’s largest gas-export project. In the Red Sea, through which 10% of the world’s seaborne oil travels, American forces are doing their best to repel drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. On January 3rd local protests shut down production at a crucial Libyan oilfield. A severe drought in the Amazon risks hampering maize shipments from Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of the grain. And yet, across commodity markets, calm somehow prevails. After a couple of years of double-digit rises, the Bloomberg Commodity index, a…

Robert Solow was an intellectual giant

E nsconced in a lorry, hidden from the enemy by the brow of a hill, the young Robert Solow decoded the radio signals of Nazi platoons across Italy. “We were very, very good at it,” he said. The trick was to get close to the enemy but not too close: near enough to pick up their transmissions, but not so near as to risk capture. The codes were not fancy—it was “combat stuff”. But if they could be broken quickly, they might reveal an ammunition delivery that could be thwarted. The radiomen were not fancy either. Most were high-school graduates. Even Solow, who would go on to earn a Nobel prize in economics, the Presidential medal of…

UK services sector upbeat as activity picks up

The UK services sector has reported its fastest jump in activity for six months, as firms grow increasingly upbeat about the year ahead. Closely-watched survey the S&P Global/CIPS UK Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) found output and new work increased for second month running in December and at the strongest rate for half a year. The poll of 650 firms in the sector, including finance, insurance, communication and non-retail consumer companies, also found a seven-month high in optimism about the outlook for 2024. Some firms also reported better than expected consumer spending on leisure and hospitality services in the run…

Three types of shock could inflame commodity prices in 2024

A s Russia continues to pound Kyiv, Western sanctions are beginning to cripple Arctic LNG 2, the aggressor’s largest gas-export project. In the Red Sea, through which 10% of the world’s seaborne oil travels, American forces are doing their best to repel drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. On January 3rd local protests shut down production at a crucial Libyan oilfield. A severe drought in the Amazon risks hampering maize shipments from Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of the grain. And yet, across commodity markets, calm somehow prevails. After a couple of years of double-digit rises, the Bloomberg Commodity index, a…

Ten ways to avoid inheritance tax legally

10 ways to avoid inheritance tax: How to stop the taxman grabbing some of your estate By Tanya Jefferies Updated: 11:05, 4 January 2024 e-mail 247 shares 135 View comments No one wants loved ones to get lumped with a hefty inheritance tax bill unnecessarily, but more people's estates are being dragged into its net. Luckily there are many legal ways to dodge the dreaded 40 per cent 'death tax' if you want to pass on the maximum sum possible and are prepared to plan ahead. The Conservatives are reportedly considering abolishing inheritance tax in the Budget on 6 March , or promising to do so in their next election manifesto in a bid…