FTSE surges upward to join US stock markets July 18, 2013 Following record breaking gains from US stock markets (the S&P also broke new highs shortly after posting), the FTSE is up over one per cent, driven by rallies in the Royal Bank of Scotland, Aberdeen Asset Management, Barclays and the London Stock Exchange. Lloyds Banking Group, Kingfisher and ASOS have also hit new highs. This [...]
US stocks hit record highs July 18, 2013 Source: Yahoo The US S&P 500 stock index came close to hitting its all time high of 1,687 today off the back of confidence over monetary policy, good results from Morgan Stanley, and good employment data out earlier. The Dow Jones index also briefly set a new all-time of 15,547.12. All-time high here in $SPY [...]
Dell buyout vote postponed to next week July 18, 2013 Dell has delayed its shareholder vote on the proposed takeover by founder Michael Dell to take the company private to 24 July. This will be a significant blow for Michael Dell, who may have to sweeten his $13.65-per-share offer. Reuters cited a source close to the matter reporting Michael Dell had managed to get several [...]
Shale gas downsides must be explored properly, says Green MP July 18, 2013 Shale gas has been attacked as a publicity stunt by the coalition, whose environmental impact, risks, level of public support, and actual economic benefits have not been properly explored. Heading up a debate in Westminster Hall, Green party MP for Brighton Pavilion Caroline Lucas said her opposition was not just environmental – quoting a statistic [...]
Morgan Stanley revises down US GDP forecast July 18, 2013 Morgan Stanley has cut its second quarter GDP forecast for the US to 0.3 per cent from 0.4 per cent. The unexpected fall in housing starts and permits in June was probably temporary, said economist Ted Wieseman, but enough to warrant cutting the outlook. After a 9.4 percent pullback from the February cycle high, single-family [...]
US inital jobless claims drop by 26,000 as continuing claims rise July 18, 2013 US initial jobless claims have dropped from 360,000 to 334,000 in the week to 13 July, a drop that exceeded what economists were expecting. Analysts had predicted a fall to 345,000. Weird blip with the continuing jobless claims though, which were up from 3.0323m (revised from 2.977m) to 3.114m. These jobs numbers have a special [...]
Morgan Stanley will begin £329m share repurchase as revenues beat estimates July 18, 2013 Morgan Stanley has posted earnings per share of $0.43 for the second quarter (release), which is exactly the number analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had been expecting. Revenues rose from the first quarter, up from $8.2bn to $8.5bn, despite forecasts that these would drop to $7.9bn. For the first time in years, the bank will be [...]
German finance minister Schäuble confirms development bank funding for Greek firms July 18, 2013 German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble has said that while the worst of the euro crisis has been overcome, there is still work that needs to be done. Speaking in Greece for the first time since 2010 as he looks to build confidence ahead of the German elections in the autumn, Schäuble said Greece has taken [...]
One chart that shows the failure of Osborne’s Funding for Lending Scheme July 18, 2013 Designed to get banks to lend more, chancellor George Osborne's Funding for Lending Scheme has failed to actually boost lending. Engineered to boost business lending, it's actually had more of an impact in the mortgage lending sector. This chart from the Bank of England demonstrates quite how poor the measure has been, and in July [...]
Labour filibustering of EU membership referendum bill gets under way July 18, 2013 Labour MPs suggested no fewer than 11 amendments to the line in James Wharton’s private member's bill pertaining to the date that a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union must be held. In the original proposals, the bill reads: “The referendum must be held before 31 December 2017”. Labour MP for Wolverhampton North [...]