US economy unaffected by Brexit vote, but attention turns to presidential election July 26, 2016 Fresh economic data from the US has shown the world's largest economy is feeling little fallout from the UK's vote to leave the EU. Both consumer confidence and business activity in the dominant services sector were "virtually unchanged" between June and July, figures out this afternoon revealed, although caution remained the prevailing sentiment as the US winds [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 26, 2016 Markets are braced for a raft of tech stock earnings today and later this week and the Japanese yen is surging. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. The pre-market is painting a mixed picture with the S&P down by 0.03 per cent, the Nasdaq is up by 0.16 per [...]
Bank of Japan and Shinzo Abe prepare for next round of stimulus in fight for growth July 26, 2016 Japan's policymakers are gearing up to unleash a new round of massive economic stimulus over the next few weeks in a push to bust the economy out of its low-growth low-inflation malaise. The action will get underway this week in a crunch central bank meeting where markets expect the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to deliver [...]
The Bank of England is all but certain to slash rates next week after Martin Weale’s declaration July 26, 2016 Another member of the Bank of England's rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) has signalled their intent to vote in favour of slashing interest rates at next week's meeting, pushing expectations of a cut to a near-certainty. Martin Weale, an independent member of MPC said today in the Financial Times last week's disappointing purchasing managers' index (PMI) had [...]
A stimulus package for the UK this August just became more likely July 26, 2016 A new package of stimulus measures just became more likely the next time the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets, after a key member indicated he had had a change of heart. The central bank shocked numerous people earlier this month when it opted to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent. Many had speculated the rate would be cut [...]
As Donald Trump pulls ahead in the presidential race, will 2016 be seen as the high water mark for globalisation? July 25, 2016 John Bew, professor at the war studies department at King’s College, London and lead of the Britain in the World project at Policy Exchange, says Yes. The world has never been more interconnected but globalisation has not been the happy process that many presumed. Potent forces like nationalism, ethnic rivalry and religious sectarianism are making a comeback. [...]
German businesses aren’t that fussed by Brexit as confidence holds up after shock vote July 25, 2016 Business confidence in Germany dipped slightly in July, though firms in Europe's largest economy showed little sign the EU referendum would weigh on their performance over the coming months. The benchmark Ifo business climate survey showed the headline measure of confidence edged back from 108.7 to 108.3 over the past month. Expectations about the future [...]
Loan trouble for China’s private sector firms raises questions over rebalancing July 25, 2016 China's top economic planner has warned difficulties securing formal loans for the country's private sector firms poses a serious hurdle to its economic rebalancing. Xu Kunlin, the head of China's National Development Reform Commission (NDRC), the state planning agency, told Reuters a sharp slowdown in private investment could sap momentum from the economy and hinted it should be made [...]
Confidence crashes to recession levels among UK manufacturers July 25, 2016 Manufacturers have yet to feel the Brexit slowdown, but fears about the future have hit their highest level since the recession, according to the closely-watched CBI industrial trends survey. The survey of manufacturers, published this morning, revealed output in the three months to July was rising at its fastest pace since July 2014, but only five [...]
Week ahead: Oil majors and GDP numbers set to steer markets July 25, 2016 Markets in the UK and Europe seem to be running out of momentum recently but a influx of earning reports this week may go some way to liven things up. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.5 per cent at 6,730.48 points at its close on Friday, its fifth straight week of gains. The latest [...]