Obama just dealt his first big blow to the US economy – Now wait for the second August 30, 2013 US President Barack Obama may have just dealt his first big shock to the US economy of 2013. Secretary of state John Kerry just dropped huge hints of military intervention against Syria – a "tailored response". As Kerry spoke, we saw the VIX, an index of US equities volatility, jump from below 17.4 to over [...]
US hints at focused military strike on Syria – even without UN backing August 30, 2013 US secretary of state John Kerry has said that any action the country takes on Syria will be "tailored and limited", strongly hinting that the US will go ahead with a focused military strike. Kerry said that while the US and president Barack Obama respects the judgement of the United Nations, the current investigation will [...]
Kerry: We know that Syrian regime has largest chemical weapon programme in the Middle East August 30, 2013 US secretary of state John Kerry has said the government knows that the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad "has the largest chemical weapon programme in Middle East" and has used them multiple times this year. The most recent attack on 21 August left at least 1,429 dead including at least 426 children, he said. [...]
Boost to the UK economy from dating up £200m from 2012 August 30, 2013 The boost to the UK economy from spending on dates is expected to rise by six per cent in 2013 compared with the year before, according to a study commissioned by match.com. This year, the overall spend on dating by UK singles is expected to be £3.6bn – up by £200m on the year before, [...]
US consumer confidence rises in August following downward revision August 30, 2013 Consumer confidence in the US rose in August after a drastic downward revision of the previous month's figure, according to survey data from Reuters and the University of Michigan. The consumer sentiment index rose to 82.1 in August, up from 80.0 the month before (revised down from 85.1). Analysts had expected to see 80.5. Earlier [...]
Chicago-area outlook sees marginal improvement in August August 30, 2013 The Chicago purchasing managers' index – which offers a glimpse into business conditions in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan – has picked up in August. Rising from 52.3 to 53, that's just below economist estimates of an improvement to 53.2. Any number above 50 implies expansion, so order books in the region can now be seen [...]
Barclays appoints former White House and Treasury lawyer as general counsel August 30, 2013 Barclays has announced the appointment of former White House and Treasury lawyer Bob Hoyt as group general counsel, completing chief executive Antony Jenkin's executive team to deliver the bank's "Transform" programme. Hoyt will succeed Mark Harding, who announced his intention to retire in February. He joins from PNC Financial Services, where he is currently general [...]
Brazilian central bank denies it is discussing coordinated currency intervention with India August 30, 2013 The Brazilian central bank has denied reports it is discussing a coordinated currency intervention with India, following media reports suggesting this was so. Earlier today, Reuters released a report citing the Indian finance ministry’s principal economic advisor Dipak Dasgupta saying his country is liaising with other emerging economy countries on a plan to co-ordinate intervention [...]
Of course markets have rejected “preposterous” forward guidance August 30, 2013 While forward guidance has become incredibly fashionable among central bankers, with the Bank of England and European Central Bank adopting the tool, many claim that it is bunkum. Economist Detlev Schlichter is one of those, and strongly disagrees with the notion that new Bank of England governor should be called one the "most talented central [...]
London councils lead the table for parking fines August 30, 2013 Total parking fines have now risen to £884m in 2011, up nearly 10 per cent from total council income from these fines in 2008. Data obtained by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) from a Freedom of Information (FOI) requests shows that East Yorkshire received the least income from motorist fines. Yet London and Thames [...]