Chinese shock leaves the FTSE 100 nursing losses after renminbi devaluation August 12, 2015 The FTSE 100 fell by 72 points yesterday as luxury goods and mining firms suffered from China’s unexpected devaluation of the renminbi. The Chinese devaluation, news of which broke after the FTSE closed on Monday night, saw Burberry shares open 12p down on the previous day at 1,595p, before falling throughout the day to [...]
S&P 500 pegged back by rising greenback: US stock index limping due to burgeoning power of dollar August 12, 2015 The strong dollar is hindering growth in US equities this year, analysts are warning. The US dollar has been persistently strong in the last year, and has risen around 18 per cent on a trade weighted basis against a basket of other currencies in 12 months. It has continued to strengthen throughout this year, and [...]
Currency chaos splits global profit outlook as Eurozone businesses outpace UK and US rivals August 12, 2015 Currency turmoil is wreaking havoc with British and American company earnings, leaving businesses trailing the growth of rivals in the Eurozone. Profit growth in the Eurozone is on track to race past American levels for the first time since 2007 and leave the UK for dust after reporting forecast-busting earnings in the latest reporting [...]
Markets taken aback by China’s move to devalue the renmibi to boost flagging economic growth August 11, 2015 Markets were taken aback by China’s move to devalue the renmibi nearly two per cent against the US dollar, to boost China’s flagging economic growth. Following weak trade and inflation data, central bank People’s Bank of China fixed its currency down 1.9 per cent, in a move which caused the Chinese currency’s biggest one-day drop [...]
What George Osborne needs to do to get Britain’s productivity engine started again August 11, 2015 Productivity is the engine of economic growth. For a quarter of a century prior to the financial crash, Britain’s productivity engine ran smoothly as output per worker increased at an average rate of more than two per cent a year. But in 2008 the engine stalled. In the last seven years there has been no [...]
Chinese central bank devalues renminbi following weak data August 11, 2015 The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has allowed the renminbi to depreciate nearly two per cent against the US dollar, cutting the currency to its lowest value in three years, following disappointing trade and inflation data. Read more: China’s unravelling: Will it devalue the yuan next? Every morning at 9:15am local time, the Chinese central bank [...]
New York City’s “responsible banking” law ruled unconstitutional after lawsuit from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan August 10, 2015 Is New York City’s notoriously tough line on banks after the crisis about to loosen up? The city’s Responsible Banking Act has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge, reports news agency Reuters. The law demanded that banks provide documentation for an advisory board to review how well they met the needs of low- and [...]
London airports see record footfall as long-haul flights double intake August 10, 2015 London airports have reported record footfall for July, as an increase in long-haul flight bookings mean that Stansted and Gatwick have both seen record passenger numbers. The results put Gatwick ten years ahead of forecasts from the Airports Commission, with 4.3m passengers passing through the airport in July. Gatwick chief Stewart Windgate said the results [...]
UK gin exports could seriously rival the £4bn a year whisky industry August 10, 2015 Forget Don Draper brooding over a glass of whisky, it's now all about the spirit housewife Betty Draper was more likely drowning her sorrows in, perhaps with a gimlet or a G&T. Exports of gin have risen by more than a third within the last five years, hitting almost £400m in 2014, but now the [...]
Russian economy contracts 4.6 per cent in second quarter August 10, 2015 Another bad day for the Russian economy, after figures published today showed it contracted 4.6 per cent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, missing even analysts' pessimistic expectations of a 4.5 per cent contraction. Although the contraction was larger than feared, the fact GDP fell hardly came as a surprise: with the [...]