Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 14, 2016 The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold, stunning the market and sending the pound sharply upwards. Here's what you need to know ahead of the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing higher, signalling what could be another day of broken all-time-highs for indices. The S&P is up [...]
US shale lowest-cost option for future oil production July 14, 2016 The large underground deposits of shale gas in the US are the lowest-cost option for future oil output. About 60 per cent of production that's cost-effective with crude at $60 per barrel is in US shale, compared to about 20 per cent accessible by deep well drilling, according to energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Read more: North Sea oil [...]
Safe pair of hands: The pound has jumped more than a cent against the dollar since Theresa May’s appointment July 14, 2016 It's been a pretty diabolical couple of weeks for currency traders, but as new Prime Minister Theresa May curtseyed to the Queen yesterday, something happened on the markets: things started to look up – suggesting May's reputation as a "safe pair of hands" may be more than just speculation… The pound, which yesterday traded as low as $1.3106, [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 dips as pre-BoE jitters seize European markets July 13, 2016 The FTSE 100 has dialled back its earlier gains to skid at the close this evening. The blue-chip index finished down just a touch at 6,670.40, off by 10 points – or 0.15 per cent. It's the second flat close on the bounce for the FTSE 100 after ending yesterday's session unchanged. It had earlier in today's session climbed to 6,717.17. The [...]
Oil price drops after US reports a smaller-than-expected reduction in stock July 13, 2016 The oil price has fallen on reports that US stocks have fallen by a smaller-than-expected amount. The US government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories fell 2.5m barrels last week, less than expectations for a 3m-barrel drop in a Reuters poll and contradicting trade group American Petroleum Institute's report yesterday, which showed a crude build of 2.2m [...]
Copper charges through $5,000 mark ahead of Bank of England rate decision tomorrow July 13, 2016 Expectations for some long-awaited action over at the Bank of England helped copper surge past $5,000 per tonne today. Copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped as high as $5,032 a tonne, its strongest since 29 April, before falling back to $4,869 in mid-afternoon trading. Read more: Say what? Gold isn't a good hedge against economic crashes, [...]
Three reasons why gold is the best-peforming investment this year, and prices are going to keep on rising July 13, 2016 Gold has been one of the best-performing assets this year, and the weeks since Brexit was announced have pushed the precious metal higher. Gold is now priced at $1,373 an ounce, 22 per cent or $312 higher than when 2016 began. Of all the investment funds out there, gold funds are the five best performers. [...]
Say what? Gold isn’t a good hedge against economic crashes, study says July 13, 2016 Anyone who snapped up gold to weather the recent market turmoil might want to stop reading now. New research suggests that the precious metal's widespread reputation as a safe-haven is not entirely correct. In fact, it's actually a poor punt for investors who want to protect their portfolios from economic meltdowns and stock market sell-offs. It comes just weeks after Britain's [...]
Welcome back: Aberdeen Asset Management lifts suspension on property fund July 13, 2016 Aberdeen Asset Management has today lifted the suspension on its property fund, one week after several asset managers put the brakes on their funds. Last week, Aberdeen announced that it would be suspending trades on its Aberdeen UK Property Fund and the Aberdeen UK Property Feeder Unit Trust to protect the value of the fund for [...]
Bull or bear? FTSE’s in a bull market but bond investors are predicting gloom July 13, 2016 Investment markets are being driven by two trends, as bonds predict a gloomy outlook of low growth, but optimistic equities surge into a bull market. The FTSE 100 closed above 6,282 this week, a rise of more than 20 per cent from the low of 5,537 it touched on 11 February. A bull run’s a promising [...]