SOCA chair voluntarily resigns after failing to declare potential conflict of interest August 1, 2013 Sir Ian Andrews has announced he is resigning from his position as chair of the Serious Organised Crime Agency after failing to declare a potential conflict of interests. In a letter to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz, Andrews apologised for what he said was both a “genuine and unintentional oversight” [...]
S&P 500 breaks through 1,700 for first time – but is that level important? August 1, 2013 US markets continue to break records, with the S&P 500 breaking the psychologically significant 1,700 level for the first time. Not that 1,700 is any more inherent significance than 1,699, but as traders attach importance to it, that makes it important. Classic example of the self-fufilling prophecy and our obsession with base 10 numbers. Some [...]
ECB president boasts about success of OMT, although concedes governments did help a bit August 1, 2013 ECB president Mario Draghi has said that now is “potentially” the first time the “significant improvement in confidence and interest rates are finding their way through to the economy” after cautioning in November that he was not satisfied with financing conditions. He credits the reduction in risk with the success of the outright monetary transactions [...]
O2 takes on EE with 4G rollout August 1, 2013 O2 will rollout its 4G network in the UK from the 29 August, initially offering the service to new and existing customers in London, Leeds and Bradford. The mobile operator will be the first to go head to head with rival EE, which was given permission to use its existing network to offer 4G services [...]
Draghi fails to define “extended period of time” and takes dig at markets August 1, 2013 ECB president Mario Draghi has said there is no exact deadline for “extended period of time” when describing the central bank’s forward guidance policy beyond an assessment of the "medium term" inflation outlook. When asked if the council discussed tying forward guidance to thresholds or triggers, he answered indirectly to the negative, replying that there [...]
US manufacturing growing at fastest pace for four months August 1, 2013 US manufacturing is growing faster according to Markit. Their purchasing manager's index figure has come in hot at 53.7. The consensus forecast was for a PMI of 53.1. Any number above 50 implies that manufacturing is expanding, so this higher figure suggests the sector is growing even more rapdily. Now we wait for ISM manufacturing [...]
ECB governing council may publish minutes to boost transparency, but concerns over perceived member independence August 1, 2013 ECB president Mario Draghi has said that the governing council would be looking into better communication in an attempt to boost transparency and give an account of the “rationale” behind why certain decisions are taken or not. It is assumed he is talking about publishing the minutes of council meetings. “We are already fairly transparent,” [...]
ECB says expectations of rate hikes are unwarranted August 1, 2013 The European Central Bank has made no significant changes to its outlook on the euro area, saying that risks for the euro continue to be on the downside (here's the full text of his opening statement). European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said that the recent tightening of market rates may weigh on growth. He [...]
US jobless claims fall to lowest level since January 2008 August 1, 2013 US initial jobless claims have fallen from 343,000 to 326,000 n the week of 26 July. Analysts had forecast a rise to 346,000. Continuing claims down from 2.997m to 3.2.951. Economists predicted an increase to 3.000m. This follows good jobs data in the former of lower corporate jobs cuts and higher private sector employment. Looking [...]