European stocks on rollercoaster ride July 17, 2013 The main European stock indices are all looking fairly similar today, with the FTSE starting strong after solid results from BHP Billiton, before following the DAX and CAC down after major downwards revisions and a contraction in eurozone output coupled with a unanimous vote from the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee to hold quantitative [...]
Italian central bank revises down growth forecast July 17, 2013 The Italian central bank has said it expects a slowdown in the economy, revising down its prediction for gross domestic product (GDP) for 2013 to -1.9 per cent from -1.0 per cent, reflecting weaker than expected productivity in the first half of the year. The Banca d’Italia points to “a slowdown in world trade and [...]
US housing starts plunge despite upbeat housebuilder confidence July 17, 2013 US housing starts have dropped like a rock despite expectations of improvement in June. Housing starts fell from 0.928m (revised from 0.914m) to 0.836m despite forecasts of an increase to 0.960m. This conflicts somewhat with housebuilder confidence data seen yesterday, the NAHB Housing Market index hit a January 2006 high, with its index of prospective [...]
Bernanke says Fed may taper QE in 2013 but monetary policy is not on a preset course July 17, 2013 Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has said in prepared testimony that the Fed may taper quantitative easing (QE) – reducing the rate of expansion of the Fed's balance sheet – in 2013, and halt QE altogether around mid-2014. Crucially, Bernanke said that monetary policy is not on a "preset course": I emphasize that, because our [...]
Cost cutting and strong sales and trading performance boost Bank of America profits July 17, 2013 Profits at Bank of America jumped by 63 per cent in the second quarter of the year thanks to its cost-cutting programme and higher revenues from equities sales and trading. Net income rose to $3.57bn or 32 cents per share, up from $2.10bn or 19 cents per share the year before. Analysts had expected earnings [...]
Goldman sees jump in euro against dollar July 17, 2013 Goldman Sachs has forecast the euro to rise against the dollar to $1.40 within the next twelve months. The median estimate of 66 analysts from a Bloomberg survey, by comparison, is a move to $1.24 by the middle of 2014. Thomas Stolper, chief currency strategist at Goldman Sachs in London, said that while the dollar [...]
European Commission refers Greece to Court of Justice for failing to recover incompatible state aid July 17, 2013 The European Commission has referred Greece to the European Court of Justice for failing to recover incompatible state aid from Greek casinos and from Aluminium of Greece. In 2009, the Commission received a complaint about the unfair taxation of private casinos in Greece, with a €12 per person admissions tax imposed on private casinos, while [...]
Public sector net debt will hit 99 per cent of GDP by 2063 unless government makes the tough decisions on spending July 17, 2013 Current government policies will cause spending to go up more than revenues in the long-term, meaning it will need to increase taxes or cut spending further, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest fiscal sustainability report. Assuming that immigration remains low, at around 140,000 per year, the UK faces a demographic shift over the [...]
Eurozone construction sees big downwards revisions and enters contraction in May July 17, 2013 Construction output in the euro area has fallen by 0.3 per cent in May, from a 1.0 per cent rise last month (revised down from 2.0 per cent). In the year to May, Eurozone construction has fallen by 5.1 per cent. The euro saw little reaction to the bad news.
Dramatic fall in jobseeker’s allowance claimants as unemployment remains stable July 17, 2013 UK unemployment in the three months to May was stable at 7.8 per cent, in line with expectations. When compared to the three months to February 2013, this was a fall of 0.2 percentage points, or 57,000 people to 2.51m. The International Labour Organisation measure of unemployment includes jobless people who want to work, are [...]