Labour mulls climate change finance crackdown as election looms November 3, 2019 The Labour party is considering measures to crack down on firms which invest in fossil fuels which include making the Bank of England (BoE) change its policy operations to avoid carbon bias. In an announcement which has raised concerns about “skewing” the BoE’s focus, Labour said it was also considering forcing banks to publish the [...]
ECB warned over bond-buying’s effect on stock markets November 3, 2019 The European Central Bank’s (ECB) money-printing programme risks causing significant damage to stock markets, Wall Street analysts have warned new president Christine Lagarde. Read more: Mario Draghi defends his record at final ECB meeting The message of caution came as the ECB restarted its “quantitative easing” (QE) programme on 1 November, through which it digitally [...]
Labour to spend £60bn on household energy programme November 3, 2019 The Labour party this morning announced a £60bn programme of housing improvements designed to cut carbon emissions 10 per cent by 2030. The initiative, which is the largest upgrade of UK households since the post-war reconstruction, will create 450,000 jobs by installing energy saving measures in almost all of the UK’s 27m homes. Read more: [...]
Saudi Aramco IPO gets the green light for December float November 3, 2019 Saudi Aramco finally announced it would begin its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) this morning after nearly four years of uncertainty and delays. The world’s most valuable company will list on Saudi Arabia’s domestic Tadawul exchange in December, with an international float planned afterwards. Read more: Saudi Aramco to start IPO process on 3 November [...]
WTO authorises China to impose $3.6bn in tariffs on US November 2, 2019 The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has authorised China to impose punitive tariffs against the US after ruling the duties on steel and other products were illegally inflated by the US. It means China could now levy $3.6bn worth of tariffs on American goods with WTO arbitrators saying the “countermeasures” could be imposed as early as [...]
S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs on better-than-expected US jobs data and renewed optimism of trade war truce November 2, 2019 The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished Friday at a record high following data better-than-expected US jobs growth data and fresh optimisim the US and China would cease their trade war. The S&P 500 rose by 0.97 per cent to 3,066.91 and peaked at a record high of 3,066.95 during Friday’s session, despite another weak reading [...]
Government bans fracking “with immediate effect” November 2, 2019 The government announced it has ended its support for fracking in the UK, following the publication of new scientific analysis. Ministers took the decision on the basis of a report by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), which found that it is impossible to accurately predict the probability or magnitude of earthquakes linked to fracking [...]
Sajid Javid launches zero-carbon review as government bans fracking November 2, 2019 Sajid Javid will launch a new review this morning of how the UK can maximise economic growth as it transitions to a green economy. The net zero review, which is the first of its type, will determine how the UK goes about achieving its target of zero emissions by 2050. Read more: Energy industry questions [...]
Exxon Mobil profits halve in the third quarter November 1, 2019 Exxon Mobil saw its third quarter profit nearly half today as lower oil prices and weaker margins in refining and chemicals saw earnings drop to $3.17bn (£2.5bn). The oil giant’s three main businesses all reported lower year-over-year profit as earnings fell 49 per cent from $6.24bn a year earlier. Read more: Shell profits slide 15 [...]
US jobs: Trump’s economy beats expectations to add 128,000 workers November 1, 2019 Sterling’s rise was cut short today by US jobs data that beat expectations, pushing the dollar higher as America added 128,000 jobs to its economy in October. The pound, which came close to hitting $1.30 earlier on a weak dollar, curbed its climb to stand 0.22 per cent up at $1.296 while the dollar rose [...]