Spooking investors: Why this earnings season is like Halloween October 24, 2016 Trick or treat! When you think about it, corporate earnings season is similar to that children’s favourite, Halloween. Expectations usually run high, but you never know if the door you are knocking on will yield a delicious surprise or be a complete let-down, as the sweets are either from last year or there’s none left. [...]
Oil prices dip after Iraq opts out of Opec arrangement to cut production October 24, 2016 Oil prices shed more than one per cent today after Iraq said it did not want to be part of an Opec deal to slash production to help rebalance the market. Brent crude was trading down 63 cents, or 1.22 per cent, this afternoon to $51.15 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the US [...]
No deal: Belgium shuts down EU-Canada trade agreement over Wallonia concerns October 24, 2016 A landmark EU-Canada trade pact was thrown into chaos last night after Belgium failed to strike a deal with its rogue Wallonia region, prompting one of the country’s leading politicians to brand it a “laughing stock”. The impasse left the EU scrambling to save the ambitious trade agreement which had been seven years in the making. Last [...]
Manufacturing exports surge on weak sterling but higher costs are on the horizon October 24, 2016 Manufacturing exports have jumped to their highest level in two and a half years in a Brexit boost for the sector following the dramatic slide in the value of sterling. The CBI's Industrial Trends survey also found UK firms were the most competitive they have ever been up against their European counterparts since the introduction [...]
Banks, law firms and accountants to be ranked on social mobility success October 24, 2016 Top City employers will be ranked on their progress in boosting social mobility and recruiting candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds, in a new government-backed scheme. The Social Mobility Commission, a government body, and the Social Mobility Foundation, a charity, have teamed up to produce a new index of the country's biggest employers to assess their efforts [...]
Monte dei Paschi di Siena shares rise by double figures as investors await news of rescue plan October 24, 2016 The share price for embattled Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena has rocketed by double digits this morning, as investors wait to hear more about the bank's bailout deal. Shares had risen 23.3 per cent to €0.33 by just before 3pm London time, the highest price they have traded at in over two months. The bank's share [...]
Spanish stock market surges as political deadlock set to end October 24, 2016 Financial markets in Spain have rallied this morning on news that the country is set to exit more than 300 days of political gridlock. After yesterday's landmark concession by the socialist PSOE party, which paved the way for centre-right Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to form a new minority government, the Ibex 35, Spain's bluechip shares index, leapt [...]
Treasury names Katharine Braddick as replacement for Charles Roxburgh as financial services head October 24, 2016 Katharine Braddick has been appointed as the new director general for financial services, the Treasury has announced. She replaces Charles Roxburgh, who was appointed as the second permanent secretary to the Treasury in June. Braddick, who was formerly the director for international and EU financial services, joined the department from the Bank of England in 2014. Read [...]
Eurozone PMI reaches 10-month high in October, driven by German growth October 24, 2016 Eurozone business activity expanded at its fastest rate of 2016 in October, new data out today shows. The growth was driven by orders books and an acceleration in the pace of hiring, according to IHS Markit’s Eurozone flash composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). Read more: UK manufacturing PMI just hit its highest since June 2014 [...]
Sterling falls again on ECB tapering talk October 24, 2016 Sterling got the week off to a bad start, sliding against both the euro and the dollar in early trading. The pound was down 0.1 per cent against the euro at €1.1225, and down 0.2 per cent against the dollar at $1.2207 ahead of the opening bell. That was despite the euro falling to its weakest [...]