SABMiller chairman Graham Mackay dies December 18, 2013 Brewer SABMiller has announced that its chairman, 64 year-old Graham Mackay (pictured), died this morning following a long illness. He passed away peacefully this morning, with his family at his side, said the group. The board has appointed acting chairman John Manser as chairman, with immediate effect. It's also appointed Guy Elliot as senior independent director [...]
Mark Carney confirms Britain is to see plastic money by 2016 December 18, 2013 The Bank of England has confirmed it will be producing Britain's first plastic notes in 2016. The first note to printed on polymer will be a five pound note featuring Sir Winston Churchill. Britain's revered wartime prime minister will be followed by Jane Austen who will take pride of place on a ten pound plastic [...]
BP makes major oil discovery in Gulf of Mexico December 18, 2013 Oil giant BP has announced this morning that it's made a "significant discovery" in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. This is the company's third discovery in recent years – it announced findings in 2006 and 2009 – but is its largest discovery in the region since the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010. It may well reignite the heated [...]
Bank of England warns on sterling strength – as the pound jumps on unemployment data December 18, 2013 The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has warned that further substantial pound gains could weaken the UK's economic recovery. Here's the relevant portion from the minutes: In financial markets, there had been a slight tightening in monetary conditions, with UK longer-term market-implied interest rates rising by around 20 basis points and sterling appreciating [...]
Unemployment falls to April 2009 low December 18, 2013 Unemployment has fallen from 7.6 per cent to 7.4 per cent in the three months to October, according to the Office for National Statistics. Analysts had expected no change this month. Jeremy Cook, chief economist at World First, points out that "the strength in jobs numbers cannot and is not being replicated in wage negotiations." [...]
China: Why US tapering won’t affect it and 5 other things December 18, 2013 As we head towards the new year, JP Morgan analyst Haibin Zhu looks ahead to the Chinese economic outlook for 2014. Where is China’s growth heading in 2014? The investment bank expects the Chinese economy to decelerate from 7.6 per cent in 2013 to 7.4 per cent in 2014. It believes that a shift in government [...]
Bitcoin faces second wave of regulation December 18, 2013 China has announced a fresh wave of regulation for the use of the virtual currency Bitcoin. Bitcoin exchanges will be blocked from accepting new inflows of cash. Exchanges such as BTC China, the world's largest Bitcoin marketplace will no longer be able to accept renminbi from potential buyers. Third party payment companies have been instructed [...]
Germany’s Merkel wants an even bigger European Union December 18, 2013 Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel isn't going to be gaining many friends in the UK today. While the UK's politicians offer promises of potential European Union reform in a pro-market direction, Merkel's new motto for the political union may as well be "oversight, oversight, oversight". She wants more European Union integration – that's her declared focus [...]
What you need to know before the open – 18/12 December 18, 2013 Today is the day the Fed's Open Market Committee makes a decision on whether to trim back its quantitative easing programme. The tapering debate has rattled on for almost eight months now, with uncertainty persistently subduing the markets. Robust economic data has left many questioning the likelihood of a December (as opposed to a March [...]
Are things getting uglier for gold? December 17, 2013 It's a tough time for gold prices at the moment. The $15 per ounce rise seen yesterday has been wiped out UK and Asian trading today, as the US dollar climbed and stock markets stayed cautious, in anticipation of tapering action from the Fed tomorrow. HSBC have said in a note: "The bullion market is [...]