Cheery US data helps fuel a rebound for British markets January 26, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index bounced back yesterday on hopes for stronger global growth after an upbeat speech overnight by US President Barack Obama and positive US housing data. The FTSE 100 closed up 51.50 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 5,969.21, after falling 0.4 per cent on Tuesday following news Britain’s economy shrank 0.5 per [...]
S&P hits highest level for 29 months January 26, 2011 THE S&P 500 closed at a 29-month high yesterday led by gains in tech and commodity shares, as investors largely ignored the US Federal Reserve’s lukewarm economic assessment. The stock market had little reaction to the Fed, which said high unemployment still justifies a $600bn bond-buying programme that has helped equities rally in the last [...]
Keep your loan on track January 26, 2011 IT’S a question playing on many homeowners’ minds: with interest rates expected to rise this year, should they fix their mortgage? The Bank of England left the official rate of borrowing unchanged for the 22nd consecutive month recently, but faces a dilemma given slowing economic growth and rising inflation. This week’s disappointing GDP data has [...]
The emerging market debt boom is about to fall apart January 26, 2011 THESE are fairly tragic times for investors in developed world sovereign debt. Thanks to the combination of quantitative easing and a flight to (perceived) safety, bond yields have been pushed down to historic lows. Two year US Treasury notes issued on Monday yielded 0.63 per cent. Even 30-year notes are hardly doing much better, yielding 4.59 [...]
European stocks drop as UK and Spain falter January 25, 2011 EUROPEAN shares fell yesterday, as confidence in Britain was shaken by an unexpected drop in fourth-quarter UK growth figures and with Spanish banks down on concerns new capital requirement rules may not be tough enough. Britain’s economy unexpectedly shrank 0.5 per cent in the last three months of last year, the first quarterly drop since [...]
Shock GDP contraction pulls FTSE and sterling downward January 25, 2011 RETAILERS were hit as Britain’s top share index fell yesterday after a shock 0.5-per cent contraction in UK GDP in the last three months of 2010. The FTSE 100 closed was down 26.14 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,917.71, having risen 0.8 per cent on Monday. Figures from the Office of National Statistics showed [...]
Wall Street finishes flat after late buying January 25, 2011 US stocks erased losses in a late flurry of buying to end little changed yesterday as overall optimism about earnings offset disappointing results from blue chips 3M and Johnson & Johnson. About 70 per cent of S&P companies so far have beaten estimates, but worries about inflation cutting into profits have caused investors to jump [...]
Sterling’s rally ends as GDP figures disappoint January 25, 2011 THE British economy has lost a lot of momentum. Last quarter it seemed to be roaring along like a Jaguar, growing by 0.7 per cent. Now, more like an old Rover, it seems to have stalled in the snow. Yesterday’s GDP statistics for the fourth quarter of 2010 revealed a fall in output of 0.5 [...]
DOLLAR-YEN COMES OUT OF THE SHADE January 25, 2011 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT AFTER DROPPING to a low of ¥80.93 at the end of last year – a move that induced more than a few heart palpitations among policy makers in Tokyo – dollar-yen has steadily climbed higher in January as the American economy has shown clear signs of improvement. Today’s federal open market [...]
EFSF bonds do not address the main problem January 25, 2011 THE Eurozone seems to escape disaster every week. Unsurprising since it always seems to have a new tactic up its sleeve. Yesterday’s was the first auction of the European financial stability facility (EFSF) bonds. Investors poured into bonds to the tune of €40bn. This should have been predictable considering the bonds are AAA-rated, offer higher [...]