1 UK poised for deflation, first time since 1960
(Julia Kollewe in The Guardian) Britain could fall into deflation this week for
the first time in more than half a century, the result of an escalating
supermarket price war and falling energy prices.
Inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index,
fell to zero in February for the first time since comparable records began in
1989. Estimates from the Office for National Statistics suggested that it was
the lowest reading since 1960.
Alan Clarke, an economist at Scotiabank, said:
“While food price deflation of close to 4% year on year may sound extreme, this
represents something of a relief after years of rapid price increases. More
specifically, over the seven years between 2007 and 2013, the average annual
pace of increase in food price inflation was 5% per year. Enjoy the cheap food
and fuel while it lasts!”
Even if the UK avoids deflation in March, it will
probably enter a period of falling prices at some point soon – following in the
footsteps of other countries. Eurozone inflation has been negative since
December, and the US rate turned negative in January before recovering to zero
in February.
There is no reason to panic, according to the Bank
of England and City analysts. They claim any period of UK deflation is likely
to prove temporary, unlike the deflationary spiral in Japan, where people have
lived with falling prices for two decades. Low, or non-existent, inflation
means that there is no need to raise interest rates any time soon. The City
expects the first rate rise, from the current record low of 0.5%, to come late
next year. Further rate cuts seem unlikely.
2 When South Africans rise up against a statue (Andrew Harding on BBC) One night last month, a student called Chumani
Maxwele scooped some poo from one of the portable toilets that dot the often
turbulent, crowded townships on the windswept plains outside Cape Town. He took
it to Table Mountain and set about smearing a statue - and in the process, ignited a
furious and fascinating row about history, race and equality.
The statue, of course, was of Cecil Rhodes - British
diamond magnate, politician and unapologetic colonialist. A man who dreamed of
a British empire, stretching from Cape Town to Cairo. The reaction to Mr
Maxwele's daubing was swift, loud, often eloquent - and polarised.
Some argued Cecil Rhodes had generously donated land
to the University of Cape Town. Plenty of black South Africans have since
benefited from Rhodes scholarships. Surely Mr Maxwele could have found a more
relevant target, and perhaps a less repulsive weapon. But Mr Maxwele stood by
his actions.
I should say at this point that South Africa is not
on the brink of a race war. Something crops up here every few months to stir
passions in a young nation still trying to work out how to tackle the legacies
of racial apartheid. And yet for me, this whole business has raised some
profound issues about today's South Africa.
First is the way it's exposed a growing political
vacuum here. There has been silence from the governing ANC. After 21 years in
power, the ANC is the establishment - the status quo. It is losing votes and
credibility, as its leader, President Jacob Zuma, lurches from corruption scandals
to indignant outbursts to denials.
The second, related, issue is about anger. For
years, many black South Africans have waited, patiently, for the fruits of
democracy - guided by Mandela's vision of a gentle, negotiated transition. But
while life has improved here for most, millions of young people are trapped in
crime-ridden townships, with little education, and no hope of work. And now,
unsurprisingly, we are seeing anger growing. But many, for better or worse,
will take a different lesson from what Mr Maxwele did with that statue: that
patience has its place, but sometimes anger is necessary. Even constructive.
3 Hillary Clinton’s 2016 launch tweet gets 3m views
in one hour (Straits Times) Within an hour of her campaign's digital launch,
the tweet Hillary Clinton posted to announce her second bid for the presidency
had been viewed 3 million times.
That eye-popping number comes from Twitter's
analytics team, which gives details on what kind of chatter has erupted on
social media. There's more: From right before her 3 pm Eastern time
announcement, to right after 5 pm, there were more than 420,000 tweets
mentioning Hillary Clinton. A half hour after the announcement, there were
7,000 tweets about Clinton per minute.
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