Sterling on the front foot as Jackson Hole approaches August 24, 2016 Sterling picked up a gear yesterday as the timing of a US interest rate rise was under the spotlight ahead of the annual central bankers’ Jackson Hole meeting. The pound rose to $1.3226, up 0.2 per cent before the gathering in Wyoming kicks off tomorrow evening. Fed chair Janet Yellen could use her speech on [...]
Gold loses its sheen as Randgold and Fresnillo tumble ahead of Jackson Hole August 24, 2016 The price of gold fell more than one per cent to $1,325.20 today, as investors nervously awaited an appearance by US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen later this week. The fall in gold prices hit FTSE-listed producers Randgold Resources, which fell 4.7 per cent to 7,640p, and Fresnillo, which dropped 3.7 per cent to 1,767.4p. Read [...]
EU wades in to Greek statistician row with bailout threats August 24, 2016 Never far from the headlines, the Greek debt crisis rumbles on. Now, a row in the country over data supplied by its official statistics agency Elstat could risk Athens' current bailout programme. Earlier this month Greece’s Supreme Court ruled the former head of Elstat, Andreas Georgiou, should face trial on charges of artificially inflating Greece’s deficit in 2009 to help foreign creditors secure [...]
The first £10bn: Mark Carney’s quantitative easing lurches on with successful bond purchases August 24, 2016 The Bank of England flexed its muscles in the bond market today, sending prices down and easing the pressure on the scramble for yield. In its final bond-buying mission of the week, the Bank bought £1.17bn worth of medium-term government debt and found more than three times the number of willing sellers as it needed. The successful auction [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 24, 2016 It's another scorcher in London and the FTSE 100 is feeling the heat, though European markets are broadly mixed as they digest the Bank of England's latest bond-buying spree. Here's what you need to know before the market open at 2:30pm London time. The S&P is up by 0.8 per cent in the pre-market, while the Nasdaq [...]
Scotland’s deficit remains at £15bn despite huge fall in offshore oil and gas revenue August 24, 2016 The Scottish balance sheet is still looking grim as falling oil prices hit revenues earned from offshore oil and gas, urging First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to double down on the EU. The Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) showed a huge deficit for the nation after a sharp drop from oil and gas revenue. Scottish public sector [...]
Housebuilder shares rise as Brexit fears look like a thing of the past August 24, 2016 Rumours of housebuilders' demise are greatly exaggerated. Builders were among the big winners on the FTSE 100 for the second day in a row this morning, after strong results from Persimmon yesterday suggested they are weathering the Brexit storm. Persimmon was up 2.5 per cent at 1,918p in mid-morning trading, while Barratt was up 2.7 per cent at 499.3p. [...]
Euro edges down as German GDP growth slows in the second quarter August 24, 2016 The German economy slowed in the second quarter, but its budget surplus jumped in good news for Angela Merkel ahead of next year's crucial elections. The euro fell slightly against the dollar, down 0.3 per cent to $1.1276 in early trading, after statistics body Destatis showed growth had fallen to 0.4 per cent, down from 0.7 per cent [...]
Shoreditch tech startup LoopUp to float on London Stock Exchange junior market today August 24, 2016 Shoreditch conference call startup LoopUp floats on the London Stock Exchange’s junior market today. The initial public offering (IPO) values the company at £40.8m and has raised gross proceeds of £8.5m at a placing price of 100p. The startup makes software to streamline the process of conference calling for businesses, reducing muffled noises and allowing [...]
The economy appears to be coping just fine after June’s Brexit vote – but the real test is yet to come August 24, 2016 Two months ago today we were waking up to the frankly astonishing news that 52 per cent of the electorate had voted to leave the European Union. The pound had crashed overnight and the FTSE soon followed suit, losing 200 points on fears of a sharp downturn. In recent weeks we have been treated to [...]