Italian PM Matteo Renzi resigns after crushing referendum defeat December 5, 2016 The euro dived to a 20-month low in the early hours of this morning after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would resign following a crushing defeat in the country’s referendum on constitutional reform. Voters comprehensively rejected Renzi’s flagship proposals to streamline parliament, predominantly by cutting the size and power of the Senate. At the time [...]
Venezuela introduces new higher-value notes in response to the world’s highest rate of inflation December 4, 2016 Venezuela’s central bank has announced that it will introduce a new set of coins and notes as the country with the world’s highest inflation struggles to make its currency usable. Six new bills will enter circulation from 15 December, ranging in value from 500 Venezuelan bolivars up to 20,000 bolivars. This means the highest-value note [...]
The Rainbow Cafe in Cambridge isn’t accepting the new £5 note December 3, 2016 The Bank of England has already said it's asked its supplier to work on "potential solutions" to the issue of animal fat in its new £5 notes. But until then a vegetarian cafe in Cambridge is taking a stand by announcing it won't be accepting said fivers. The BoE confirmed using a trace of animal fat, [...]
US non-farm payroll: US adds 178,000 jobs in November as wages rise and unemployment falls December 2, 2016 US non-farm payroll data has shown that the US added 178,000 jobs in the month that saw Donald Trump win the Presidential election. Market experts had been expecting an increase of 165,000 in November, slightly above the 161,000 reported for October. Unemployment dropped to 4.6 per cent and wages were up 2.5 per cent. The jobs [...]
Oil prices dip but still on track for recovery after Opec deal December 2, 2016 Oil prices fell slightly on Friday morning, but are still set for a strong week. Investors piled into oil futures and related stocks earlier this week when Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec) revealed a deal to cut production by 1.2m barrels a day. Read more: $50 oil saves FTSE 100 from further falls This [...]
FTSE 100 falls ahead of the Italian referendum – but the pound tries to keep its chin up December 2, 2016 The FTSE 100 slid almost one per cent in morning trading today, as jitters over the outcome of the Italian referendum and the higher oil price conspired against equities. The UK's blue-chip market was down 0.9 per cent at 6,693 points in mid-morning trading, pushed down by minters and oil giants, after oil prices jumped this [...]
It’s not all bad: UK construction output grew more than expected in November December 2, 2016 Output in the UK's construction sector grew faster than expected in November, figures published today showed – suggesting things might not be as bad as they seemed in the sector. Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the construction sector rose to 52.8 in November, above expectations of 52.2 and above October's figure of 52.6. Any figure [...]
Editor’s notes: The uncertain art of measuring the UK’s economic uncertainty December 2, 2016 You may not have seen it on the News at Ten but Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Kristin Forbes delivered a fascinating speech last week on the nature of economic uncertainty and how best it can be measured. As Donald Trump said when he delivered his victory speech, “it’s a complicated business, folks”. [...]
The league table of countries with the most ‘caring’ investors December 2, 2016 | City Talk Europeans are less concerned about environmental issues when it comes to selecting investments than Asians or Americans, according to a major study of attitudes in 28 countries. Investors in Asia were far more likely to consider environmental concerns, particularly those in Indonesia and Thailand. Investors in China and India also ranked the importance of these [...]
How the stockmarket returned 80% without moving December 2, 2016 | City Talk Reinvesting dividends is one of the most powerful tools available to an investor to boost returns over time. If you had invested £100 on 30th December 1999 in the FTSE 100, the capital growth would have produced a notional return of £0.97 (by 31/10/16). But on a total return basis, reinvesting all dividends, the £100 [...]