London Report: FTSE records its first quarterly drop since June March 31, 2014 BABCOCK was the star performer among Britain’s top shares yesterday as a nuclear contract win helped it outperform a lacklustre showing on the broader blue-chip index, which suffered its first quarterly drop since June. The FTSE 100 ended down 17.21 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 6,598.37 points, after a see-saw session which saw it [...]
New York Report: First quarter gains for S&P and Nasdaq March 31, 2014 US STOCKS rose yesterday, with the S&P 500 ending both March and the first quarter of 2014 with moderate gains, after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen relieved concerns about a rate hike coming earlier than expected. This was the fifth straight quarterly rise for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, though it was the [...]
Barbarians at the train controls: How KKR is making a move on European rail March 31, 2014 Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts, the private equity shop famously given the sobriquet ‘barbarians at the gates’ for its buyout deals, has taken a highly significant step today – backing a new locomotive leasing company. KKR has helped finance a deal by the European Locomotive Leasing company (ELL), a new venture led by the former chief [...]
Markets jump on Yellen’s jobs speech March 31, 2014 Chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, has been speaking in Chicago on the health of the US economy and what the Fed's doing to promote a stronger jobs market. For many Americans, she said, “the recovery still feels like a recession” and “it also looks that way in some economic statistics”. The US economy [...]
Move aside Bitcoin, here comes HullCoin? March 31, 2014 Hull City Council is jumping on the wave of enthusiasm surrounding cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Dogecoin, with the launch of its own currency, HullCoin. Hyperlocal currencies are nothing new with the Brixton Pound, Stroud Pound, and Totnes Pound having all grown from a desire to protect local business by ensuring value stays within a local [...]
The most important economic event this year starts tomorrow March 31, 2014 Japan’s sales tax rises from five per cent today to eight per cent tomorrow, the first increase in 17 years, and an experiment that the rest of the world should be paying attention to. The tax is a self-imposed test of Abenomics, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s primarily monetary-policy driven stimulus effort. Despite a spate of [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 31, 2014 US futures have risen ahead of Janet Yellen’s speech later today. Over here in Europe, stocks have suffered some losses after weaker-than-expected Eurozone inflation data. The headline figure dropped to a 2009-low of 0.5 per cent, piling pressure on the ECB to invoke policy tools to help the region. When it comes to the Ukraine-Russia [...]
Which tech giant is the undisputed king of April Fools? March 31, 2014 Beware when you start using your computer tomorrow morning. The platform most of the world’s computer users go to in search of truth, will be pedalling some lies. Why? Google really loves April Fools jokes. The internet giant is hardly alone in the practice of corporate hoaxes; 1 April often sees a tsunami of [...]
UK Bitcoin exchange shuts up shop March 31, 2014 Bit121 a UK-based Bitcoin exchange has suspended trading and will be closing temporarily from today. The exchange has not confirmed when it will reopen. Bit121's site functionality was removed on the 26 March. However, the site did provide the following exceptions: 1. Users will be able to view their account balance and account statement2. Users [...]
Pictures: Bank of England Museum reopens with exhibition on curious objects March 31, 2014 The Bank of England Museum has reopened its doors today after a three-month revamp, and what better way to mark the occasion than by launching a new exhibition featuring some of the more unusual items from its vast collections that have never been shown before. Among the curiosities on show is a secret ballot box [...]