Markets poised for crunch interest rate move from Bank of England August 4, 2016 Markets are standing by this morning for the Bank of England to take interest rates to a record low later today – and the nerves are showing. Sterling is falling ahead of the announcement and the FTSE 100 has also eased back as traders assess just how much fuel the Bank of England will throw onto the [...]
Twitter’s share price takes flight on buyout rumours August 3, 2016 Shares in micro-blogging site Twitter have jumped today on rumours former Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer and Saudi investor Prince Al-Waleed Bin-Talal could make a buyout offer for the company. Shares are up by over eight per cent in New York, climbing to $17.72 after falling as low as $15.77 in July. Twitter shares hit an all time low of [...]
This veteran entrepreneur is a step closer to mining gold in Ireland August 3, 2016 There could be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for serial entrepreneur John Teeling. Connemara Mining, the Aim-listed firm which Teeling chairs, said today that it's found multiple veins of gold running through rocks at a high grading of 5.84 grams per tonne. It comes after a similar find last month. John Teeling told City [...]
Global oil clears $42 mark but oversupply fears loom large August 3, 2016 Oil climbed above $42 per barrel today, but concern about the pace of the market recovery remains. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 1.60 per cent to $42.47 per barrel in late afternoon trading. West Texas intermediate, the US benchmark, rose 1.82 per cent to $40.23. They were supported by US government data which showed oil [...]
Fitch warns European oil majors unlikely to break even this year August 3, 2016 Fitch warned today that the cash-strapped European oil majors are unlikely to break even until next year. It comes after Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Total and Eni revealed a disappointing set of first half results. They didn’t benefit as expected from oil prices swelling about a third during this period. The credit ratings agency said the results suggest big oil [...]
Rio Tinto share price falls as first half profits nearly halve August 3, 2016 Shares in Rio Tinto fell 0.70 per cent to 2,424.50p per share today, after the miner's first-half profit fell to its weakest in 12 years. The figures: Rio's underlying earnings tumbled 47 per cent year-on-year in the first half to $1.56bn, from $2.92bn. This beat analysts' forecasts of around $1.46bn. Its efforts to shrink net debt also exceeded expectations, falling [...]
This is how much hosting the Olympics boosts a country’s stock market on average August 2, 2016 Brazil is set to reap a 25 per cent stock market boost from hosting this year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, if the experience of past hosts is anything to go by. One year after organising the games, the last six host countries of Spain, the US, Australia, Greece, China and the UK registered an average increase of [...]
US oil holds above $40 after falling into bear market territory August 2, 2016 Crude prices crept into positive territory today, after US oil dropped below $40 per barrel for the first time since April yesterday. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 0.69 per cent to $42.43 per barrel in late afternoon trading. Its US counterpart, West Texas Intermediate, swelled 0.17 per cent to $40.23. Increases in the number of [...]
Fresnillo shares rise after its profits more than double August 2, 2016 Fresnillo shares sparkled today, after the precious metals miner struck gold in the first half of 2016. It comes on the back of investors boosting gold and silver prices by rushing into the so-called safe haven assets following Britain's decision to leave the European Union in June. Read more: The Royal Mint hails best results in over a thousand [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 2, 2016 Japan has launched a £34bn stimulus package, the Reserve Bank of Australia has chopped its its benchmark interest rate to a record low 1.5 per cent and Europe's banks are getting sold off. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm. The US pre-market is pointing down ahead of the open. The S&P is [...]