The new UK Prime Minister pushes for a hard Brexit Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Aug 30, 2019 The deadline for the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union arrives on October 31 this year. This new deadline was set after a six-month extension from the original deadline of March 31, following the two-year time frame triggered by the invocation... Read more
Recessionary warning bells are getting louder Published by MacBeth Team on Aug 23, 2019 The possibility of a global recession has been discussed openly in the last few months. New data released this week reinforce the view that a recession might be imminent. There are many indicators of when recessions are likely, but indicators are not... Read more
The strange world of negative interest rates Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Aug 16, 2019 For most of my four-decade career, interest rates have been much higher than today. In the late 1970s, and for most of the 1980s, interest rates were consistently above 10 percent. In the last five years a new phenomenon appeared that most observers thought... Read more
China and the U.S. fight for leadership role Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Aug 09, 2019 The U.S.-Chinese competition for global leadership keeps escalating. Although most people see this current conflict as a trade war, there is much more at stake than just trade and tariffs. Throughout recorded history there have been many instances of... Read more
The Fed responds to the pressure Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Aug 02, 2019 The Federal Reserve Bank, headed by Jerome Powell, took the unusual step this week of cutting interest rates when the economy is strong, and the S&P 500 hit all-time highs. Powell stumbled during the press conference while giving reasons for the cut.... Read more