Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond’s proposed referendum for the independence of Scotland is an existential issue for the United Kingdom. Business Monitor Online recently published a primer on the subject, discussing the following questions: What will be the choices on offer to the Scottish electorate? When will the referendum be held? Who will vote in… [Read more]

As 2012 begins, the final verdict on 2011 growth is taking shape. BMI‘s expectation is that the US economy will sustain some of the momentum that it began to pick up late in 2011, whereas the eurozone and Chinese economies will continue to demonstrate weakness. This is borne out by purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data… [Read more]

What started as a peaceful protest in Tottenham (in the London Borough of Haringey) on August 6 over the police shooting of a local resident, has since erupted into spontaneous riots across the capital and elsewhere in England (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have so far been largely unaffected). Given the rapidity with which new… [Read more]

While investors’ attentions are naturally focused on the meltdown in global financial markets, there are several other noteworthy developments taking place around the world that could add to the sense of global risks. The following are in no particular order: Tensions are once again rising on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea is conducting military exercises,… [Read more]

Perhaps the most noteworthy development of last week’s UK regional elections was the Scottish National Party (SNP)’s victory in establishing the first-ever single-party majority administration in the Scottish Parliament’s history. The most eye-catching part of the SNP’s policy platform is its commitment to independence, and the desire to hold a referendum on the issue during… [Read more]

The United Nations has published its latest population forecasts for the world from now to 2100. The accompanying press release is worth reading, and the online database has been updated accordingly. Of note, the UN sees the world population rising to 10.1bn in 2100, with Africa’s population more than tripling to 3.6bn over the next… [Read more]

BMI expects the UK to introduce regulatory mechanisms to reduce sales recorded by multinational drugmakers. Although the country possesses the two main characteristics associated with introducing medicine price cuts – significant state involvement in pharmaceutical purchasing and a large fiscal shortfall – it is unlikely to introduce explicit controls. This is because the government is… [Read more]