Gold prices slump as Pfizer vaccine propels risk appetite November 9, 2020 Gold prices shed more than two per cent today as Pfizer’s announcement that its Covid-19 vaccine was 90 per cent effective in trials lured investor appetite away from safe haven assets. Spot gold slipped 2.2 per cent to $1,908.55 per ounce this afternoon, while US gold futures fell 2.3 per cent to $1,908.90, marking its [...]
Pfizer vaccine: ‘A good news day’ for markets, say analysts November 9, 2020 Global stock markets catapulted this afternoon on news that Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine saw a 90 per cent success rate in clinical trials, as analysts welcomed the announcement as a “boost for hopes of a return to normality”. The prospect of a vaccine electrified world markets, with S&P 500 futures hitting a record high and tourism [...]
Markets greet Biden presidency with sigh of relief November 9, 2020 Markets have celebrated a return to political normality after a five-day vote count in the US presidential election finally yielded a result over the weekend. Joe Biden on Saturday was elected the 46th President of the United states after winning the major battlegrounds of Pennsylvania and Nevada, booting incumbent Donald Trump out of the White [...]
Weekly outlook, 9-13 November: Investors shift their focus back to the UK economy November 9, 2020 Investors were kept busy with the drama across the Atlantic last week, but they’ll soon want to focus back on the UK in what will be a busy week of results and economic updates. After a nail-biting election, markets will likely be considering the implication of a Biden presidency. But with GDP and unemployment figures [...]
Europe set for positive open as Nikkei hits highest level since 1991 November 9, 2020 While President Trump still appears to be in denial about the loss of the Presidency to Joe Biden and still refusing to concede, markets appear to be unconcerned about the prospect of a contested outcome, and have moved on to what might happen next. CMC Markets UK’s chief market analyst Michael Hewson tells City A.M. [...]
Tech and the City: Listing rules set for revamp to lure unicorns November 8, 2020 Rules governing public listings are reportedly set for a huge overhaul in a bid to lure tech giants to the City. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is next week set to announce a review into stock market listings to encourage tech unicorns, firms valued at over $1bn, and other high-growth companies to list in London rather than [...]
Wall Street slips but FTSE 100 rises as Joe Biden edges towards presidency November 6, 2020 Wall Street stocks slipped after a week of gains as Democrat challenger Joe Biden inched closer to the presidency, but the FTSE 100 rose on a mixed day’s trading. The S&P 500 dipped 0.2 per cent while the Dow Jones fell 0.3 per cent. The tech-dominated Nasdaq was 0.5 per cent lower. In the UK, [...]
US employment growth hits five-month low but beats estimates November 6, 2020 The number of Americans finding new work slipped to its lowest level in five months in October as stimulus petered out and coronavirus cases rose, although the figures came in well above expectations. Last month 638,000 Americans found jobs, the US Labor Department said today in its monthly non-farm payrolls report. That was down from [...]
DEBATE: Did Chinese regulators have a legitimate reason for halting the IPO of Jack Ma’s Ant Group? November 6, 2020 Did Chinese regulators have a legitimate reason for halting the IPO of Jack Ma’s Ant Group? Tim Focas, head of capital markets at Aspectus Group, says YES. For any public listing, but in particular one of this magnitude, smart and sound regulation is of paramount importance. It can’t be one rule for one firm looking [...]
Rishi Sunak’s furlough extension ‘to cost £6.2bn a month’ November 5, 2020 The chancellor’s extension of the furlough scheme until March will cost around £6.2bn per month, the Resolution Foundation think tank has said. Sunak today announced a major U-turn, saying he would extend the scheme until the end of March rather than ending it this year. The job retention scheme – commonly known as furlough – [...]