Will Mark Carney’s corporate bond-buying help UK companies? August 11, 2016 Companies across the UK are bracing themselves for a shake-up to the way they raise cash on the corporate finance market as the Bank of England prepares to start buying private sector debt. Threadneedle Street will buy around £10bn of top-quality corporate bonds as part of its mission to help the UK avoid a recession [...]
A Leonardo DiCaprio-backed startup is bringing mattress innovation to the UK August 11, 2016 Prepare for your sleep to be disrupted – but in a good way. A US startup with celebrity backing has launched in the UK and is hoping to shake up how Brits buy mattresses and the way we sleep. Casper, a two-year-old startup with multi-million dollar investment from Leonardo DiCaprio as well as venture capital [...]
Government urged to implement new tax credit scheme for UK exporters for economy boost after Brexit vote August 10, 2016 The government is being urged to implement a tax credit scheme for UK exporters to boost British business and the economy after the Brexit vote. In an open letter, David Thomas, the executive chairman of the Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe (COBCOE), said: “This will cost the exchequer nothing on balance. “It can [...]
Why the post-Brexit economic doom and gloom may have been greatly overdone August 10, 2016 Something quite remarkable happened in the UK economy in June. UK broad money growth M4ex rose 5.8 per cent (year-on-year) – its fastest rate since the introduction of quantitative easing in 2009. Indeed, the growth rate is approaching the 6 per cent baseline for broad money growth that the Bank of England announced was its target [...]
Gold miner Centamin glitters as it hikes production estimates August 10, 2016 CENTAMIN’s solid set of half-year results, in which it cut costs and boosted production, helped its shares close up 1.28 per cent to 173.80p today. The figures Centamin's gold production swelled 30 per cent year-on-year to 140,306 ounces in the six months to 30 June. The gold miner's production costs per unit shrank 34.70 per cent [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil tumbles after US oil stocks unexpectedly rise August 10, 2016 Crude prices tumbled this afternoon, as a surprise build in US oil inventories offset the second-biggest weekly drop in US gasoline stocks this summer. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 1.78 per cent to $44.18 per barrel, while its US counterpart West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1.87 per cent to $41.97. Read more: Fitch warns European oil [...]
Quantitative easing bounces back with successful round of BoE bond-buying August 10, 2016 The Bank of England's quantitative easing programme is back on track after its latest offer to buy government debt was massively oversubscribed. The Bank received offers from bond-holders to hand over more than £5.5bn worth of government coupons this afternoon – covering Threadneedle Street's daily £1.17bn budget by a factor of 4.7 to one. Officials will have [...]
Opec warns of “lingering concerns” over US and European oil demand August 10, 2016 Opec today flagged "lingering concerns" over weak demand from US and European oil refiners, a factor which has contributed to the recent fall in crude prices. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said, despite the recent fall in oil prices, refining margins weakened last month due to a glut of oil products such as petrol. This was [...]
Yuan currency to rule them all: China seeks to boost renminbi August 10, 2016 China has pledged to boost the role of the renminbi in the international economy as the country prepares to take new steps to develop the reputation and more widespread use of its currency. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said today it was seeking to increase the use of the renminbi as a reserve currency for central [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 10, 2016 The UK economy is slowing down after its vote to quit the European Union and markets continue to knock on record highs. Here's what you need to know before the US market opens at 2:30pm London time. US markets are pointing up ahead of the open signalling the possibility of further all-time highs. The S&P is [...]