Well, at least we know now where some of that $ 1.2 billion in investor funds that's 'missing' went! According the Barack Obama's 2012 campaign website, Jon Corzine of Hoboken, New Jersey raised at least $500,000 for the president's reelection effort. Corzine, of course, has most recently been in the news for being on the wrong side of a $6.3 billion bet as head of MF Glob...

So Jon Huntsman is dropping out of the US Presidential race today. Apparently a battle with Rick Perry for fifth in South Carolina didn't appeal. Even though he looked like the best bet to beat Obama, Huntsman was never likely to win the Republican nomination. When many Republicans were desperately searching for a more conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, running as the more moderate alte...

You've heard of the Intrade Prediction Market; Introducing the Irish betting site Paddy Power! What do people around the rest of the world think about who's going to win the New Hampshire Primary, who will be the Republican nominee for president and who will win the 2012 presidential election? Then again does it really matter because U.S. citizens can't legally bet there and the Iri...

The Budapest government saw borrowing costs soar and the currency plunge as traders bet that international authorities may abandon Hungary, letting it become the first European Union country to default on its debts. The florint fell more than 1pc to a record low against the euro and bond yields soared over 10pc. The Hungarian government,

Alex Salmond has a soft spot for horse racing, and I've just seen some odds that could make the First Minister a very rich man: William Hill is offering 9/1 on Scotland being independent by the end of the decade. The SNP is traditionally bold in its predictions: ‘Free by '93’ being one of the more memorable. Salmond himself predicted that the Union of 1707 would not live to s...

In the run-up to every New Year, newspapers and the blogosphere are full of articles about what happened in the year just gone. 2011 was a particularly eventful year so there will be much to pick from. But what about the things that did not happen, though they were widely expected? Here are five things that did not take place — though, as the year unfolded, many people would have bet on thei...

Bid to cover ratio of .65 in Germany 6 billion euro 10-year government bond auction! The bid to cover ratio in a bond auction is a key indicator of investor interest in an auction, appetite for the issuers bonds at current yields and most of all belief that the issuer and guarantor of the debt is a good bet at that yield. It is the concept of risk and reward in one of its most basic forms. On Wedn...

Meanwhile, in the financial markets speculation has replaced real investment. This is logical because investing in new technologies in manufacturing or services is a much less safe bet for individual businesses than just getting on one of two gravy trains, the first being public sector outsourcing and the second financial derivatives. Derivatives, for those who

Italy and Greece chose technocrats to lead their countries through the eurozone crisis. EU leaders warmly greeted new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos of Greece and Mario Monti, tapped by the Italian president yesterday (13 November) to form a government. Favourable market reactions are anxiously awaited. More »

Diversity increases our energy security: renewables, fossil fuels and nuclear power are not mutually exclusive, argues Chris Huhne.