FTSE 100 closes at a new record high as miners surge on Anglo American stake purchase March 16, 2017 The FTSE 100 closed at a new record high of 7,415.95 as Anglo American shares surged and markets breathed a sigh of relief on the Dutch election results. London’s blue chip index reached a high of as much as 7,423.20 points in morning trading as the mining sector surged, with a rally in oil and commodity prices [...]
Sterling jumps as Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) votes to leave monetary policy unchanged, but one votes to hike March 16, 2017 A senior policymaker at the Bank of England defied her colleagues to vote to raise interest rates for the first time in over a year, as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left monetary policy untouched. Kristin Forbes voted to raise bank rate by 0.25 per cent. Forbes is an external member of the nine-member MPC [...]
Four things to watch out for from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting March 16, 2017 The Bank of England is set to announce monetary policy at its latest meeting this afternoon. Investors don’t expect anything in the way of change, but as always economists will try to read the runes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) statement to see how the Bank’s economists think the UK economy is faring. Read [...]
Anglo American share price rises as Indian tycoon Anil Agarwal invests £2bn in the miner March 16, 2017 Shares in Anglo American have shot up this morning, after Indian tycoon Anil Agarwal made a bid to take a 12 per cent stake in the miner. The stock was up 9.2 per cent at pixel time. The mining boss announced last night that he plans to invest up to £2bn in Anglo by issuing a [...]
The idea that London will be replaced as Europe’s financial centre is completely potty March 16, 2017 It's now almost nine months since the referendum, and Article 50 is about to be invoked. Readers of this column will be familiar with my arguments as to why a unilateral free trade Brexit is the optimal exit strategy, because of the gain to consumers in the short term and to consumers and producers in the [...]
Polymetal on a spending spree as it ramps up capital expenditure March 15, 2017 FTSE 250 metal mining company Polymetal has boosted its revenues by 10 per cent but it has also ramped up spending at the same time, the company has said in its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2016 The figures Polymetal said capital expenditure has risen by 32 per cent to $271m (£220.54m) [...]
Profits soar at landscape gardening specialist Marshalls March 15, 2017 Landscaping group Marshalls’ share price jumped up by as much as six per cent in early trading as the builders’ merchants and garden centre supplier reported bumper profits in its 2016 full-year results. The figures Profits before tax rose by 31 per cent to £46m from £35.3m last year on flat revenues of £396.9m, up [...]
The US Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates and signalled a slower pace of monetary tightening March 15, 2017 The US Federal Reserve lifted interest rates for the second time in three months last night, but sent the dollar and US Treasury yields tumbling with a cautious outlook on economic growth and future hikes. The federal funds rate was raised to 0.75 per cent-one per cent. However, the Fed stuck to its forecast of just two [...]
Intercontinental Exchange could push back London clearing launch as it seeks to assert gold dominance March 15, 2017 Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) could push back the launch of clearing for London’s gold price auction as it seeks to get all participants on board. The New York Stock Exchange owner was set to go live with its clearing plans at the end of this month. But City A.M. understands the launch could now be put [...]
Was Philip Hammond right to U-turn on his national insurance hike for the self-employed? March 15, 2017 Julian Jessop, chief economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes. It is increasingly hard to justify why the self-employed should pay much lower national insurance contributions (NICs) than those who work for others. Nonetheless, this distortion should have been tackled as part of a fundamental rethink of the tax and benefit system, rather [...]