At the close: Sterling stable and FTSE 100 fizzes June 17, 2016 Markets ended the day on the up as the moratorium in the EU referendum campaign allowed markets to compose themselves ahead of what is certain to be one of the most volatile weeks since the financial crisis. The FTSE 100 recovered some lost ground to close above the benchmark 6,000 point mark – but only just. [...]
Brexit fears prompt multi-million pound outflows from UK funds June 17, 2016 Rising Brexit fears prompted a huge outflow from UK equity funds in the week to Thursday. Data compiled by Bank of America shows that nervous investors withdrew $1.1bn (£769m) during this period, which marks the second largest outflows in the past decade behind last year's nail-biting General Election. Read more: No, Brexit won't hit house prices – [...]
Gold loses shine as it falls back below $1,300 June 17, 2016 The softer dollar pulled gold back from a two-year high today, as investor anxiety about next week's EU referendum eased slightly. The precious metal is still on course for its third weekly gain, with spot gold rising 0.7 per cent to $1,286.82 an ounce in early afternoon trading. US gold, however, slumped 0.6 per cent [...]
Sterling soars and markets jump as EU referendum campaigns on hold June 17, 2016 Sterling has risen against the dollar and the FTSE 100 is back above 6,000 points this morning, as the markets respond to the death of Jo Cox, and the EU referendum campaign takes a pause. The pound climbed to $1.4301, up 0.7 per cent overnight, as market chatter and hearsay suggested traders believe the suspension [...]
IMF head Christine Lagarde says EU makes Britain richer, vibrant and more exciting June 17, 2016 Christine Lagarde has championed the UK's membership of the European Union, and called on Europe to counter the populist and insular mindset sweeping the continent. In a speech in Vienna this morning, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said there was a "clear case as to how the UK has benefited — and will continue [...]
Oil rises for the first time in seven days as the US dollar weakens June 17, 2016 Oil snapped its biggest weekly drop in more than two months today, helped by foreign exchange rate movements. The greenback slumped 0.2 per cent to $94.407 against a basket of currencies, making the dollar-priced commodity more attractive to foreign buyers, and helping crude shrug off a sharp drop in the previous six sessions. Read more: IEA says global [...]
Europe signs off on €7.5bn finance package for Greece June 17, 2016 European leaders have signed on the dotted line to unlock the latest tranche of Greece's bailout funds this morning. The beleaguered nation will get its hands on €7.5bn (£5.9bn) next week after technocrats from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) – the body in charge of administering the Greek bailout, based in Luxembourg – approved the deal today. Finance [...]
With the Bank of England warning of a sharp fall in sterling, would leaving the EU be a buying opportunity? June 17, 2016 Jason Hollands, managing director of Tilney Bestinvest, says Yes. A Leave vote will likely lead to a knee-jerk reaction in the markets, led by a sharp slide in sterling. However, far from hitting the panic button, I would see an indiscriminate slide in UK equities on the back of a Leave vote as a potential buying [...]
Kenya considering launching tea futures to stabilise prices June 16, 2016 The world's first tea futures contracts could be launched in Kenya in an attempt to stabilise prices and securitise production. Representatives of the Kenyan tea industry have held talks with INTL FCStone Inc, a financial advisory firm based in New York, about setting up the derivatives, Bloomberg reported. Kenya is the world’s largest exporter of [...]
US inflation still going strong as prices rise for third straight month June 16, 2016 Higher petrol prices and a weaker dollar helped US inflation stay hovering around the one per cent mark in May, official statistics out this afternoon confirmed. Prices rose by 0.2 per cent over the month in the world's largest economy, but the annual rate of inflation slipped back from 1.1 per cent to one per [...]