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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, 03 Dec 2008 15:02:31 PST</pubDate>
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										</image><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 PST</pubDate><guid>http://www.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 PST</pubDate><guid>http://www.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 PST</pubDate><guid>http://www.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 PST</pubDate><guid>http://www.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/if-you-go-down-to-the-woods-bretton-today-you-are-sure-of-a-big-surprise</guid></item><item><title>Who Needs Gunpowder?</title><description><![CDATA[ In 1605 Guy Fawkes wanted to destroy most of the English establishment and its parliament along with its new Scottish King, James VI, with some good old fashioned gunpowder. Several centuries later Mr Fawkes should have been an investment banker because he could potentially have achieved the same (apart from the Regicide) without the need of a flickering taper in a dark cellar but rather just with the sale of a toxic bond or two. In comparison gunpowder seems rather tame - when watching fireworks explode this week try not to make too many comparisons with the global economy.   The recent events week by week are quite astonishing in both their number and significance. It is therefore quite understandable for people to be mesmerised by the news and to completely lose track of what actually is going on. If I may be as clear as possible - the UK economy is in recession and the question is now about whether it develops into a slump rather than just an unpleasant recession. The global economy]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 31 Oct 2008 7:55:21 PDT</pubDate><guid>http://www.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/who-needs-gunpowder</guid></item><item><title>Halloween Masks</title><description><![CDATA[ It's been getting darker - not just because of the UK changes over to Winter timing but rather because last week was when those in power finally admitted to the inevitable; that we are in for a recession, and probably quite a prolonged one at that. If you read my comments on a regular basis then this should come as no surprise and in fact could almost be one of those Basil Fawlty moments where these revelations have been no more than an amazing announcement of the stunningly obvious. To add to this, the Pound lurched downwards against the Dollar, underlining the lack of confidence that others have in themanagement of our economy.  Again unsurprisingly, this has brought out the usual wails from the Jeremiahs around the media,forecasting scenarios of horror that have all the appeal of a short break with Dante at his Inferno Weekend Lodge. In fact there was nothing especially surprising or unexpected in the news, but it was a week for the pessimists and resultant market nerves. These times]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:28:31 PDT</pubDate><guid>http://www.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/halloween-masks</guid></item><item><title>Back in the USSA</title><description><![CDATA[ The land of the free and the stalwart of the capitalist system, America stands as the bulwark against socialism and as the advocate of the free economy. Well, that is the usual mantra but of course not everything is quite as it seems.  Over the past week we have heard some of the leading US politicians railing against creeping socialism (that would be those reds under the beds again I suppose) and the threat posed by nationalising the main banks in the US. Hyperbole, of course, tends to take over at such moments, as no&#8208;one is actually anticipating (yet) taking over the banks, but rather taking strategic stakes in them with some specific strings attached. Given the risks to the very structure of the capitalist system, this is almost the last resort and despite the negative comments from pre-election grandstanding politicians, a very necessary one.  There were also some interesting side comments at the attitude of the Europeans being obviously a bunch of &quot;pinkos&quot;, but it is]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2008 8:42:46 PDT</pubDate><guid>http://www.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/back-in-the-ussa</guid></item><item><title>No need to hunt for Red October or Blowing the Dam!</title><description><![CDATA[ So will it work? The truthful answer is that it has to. There is no &#8220;plan B&#8221;. The rescue package was certainly bold and the internationally coordinated interest rate cut a welcome surprise, but will it be enough to start to clear the log jam?  The banking system is supposed to be a fast flowing river of financial liquidity, capable of providing enough resources for all to draw their water from, whether for direct investment or just day to day financing and cash flow its uses are various and vital. Now this river has changed. It hasn&#8217;t dried up, as there is still lots of money and finance around, but it has been jammed and dammed by the detritus of financial losses and loans acting just as much as a barrier as any real logjam.&#160; So as the river can&#8217;t flow, its users cannot draw from it and function properly and when that happens, all will suffer.  By the start of last week, there were already real fears of banks running out of cash even for such mundane]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2008 7:30:50 PDT</pubDate><guid>http://www.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/no-need-to-hunt-for-red-october-or-blowing-the-dam</guid></item><item><title>The End of the Beginning?</title><description><![CDATA[  Watching the fortresses of capitalism crumbling before our eyes has been an astonishing nay frightening, act to behold. I know that the media has run out of exaggerated adjectives to describe these events and the hyperbole is becoming tired, but we need to maintain some objective views as to how this is progressing.  The US bailout is of course to be welcomed, but probably marks the end of the first stage of this crisis. In itself, the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Programme) will only serve to hopefully start the cleaning process of the US banking industry&#8217;s wounds. Whilst vital in itself, this does not actually heal the wounds; by which I mean start the banks&#8217; lending and getting the life blood of the capitalist system flowing again. The erratic and volatile measure of LIBOR will be the best measure to see the progress being made here.  The call from Hank Paulson for an international response has been met, as expected, with a rather disjointed reply. The ECB thinks it&#8217;s a]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2008 9:01:18 PDT</pubDate><guid>http://www.moneymagpie.com/blogpost/investing-finances/the-end-of-the-beginning</guid></item></channel></rss>