Italy’s political crisis triggers bond sell-off and shakes European markets August 9, 2019 Traders have sold off Italian government bonds and European stock markets are in the red after League party leader Matteo Salvini called for a snap election, saying his ruling coalition was unworkable. Read more: Investor confidence in Eurozone hits five-year low Yields on two-year Italian government had risen 18 basis points (0.18 percentage points) to [...]
Hong Kong protests continue as property developers urge calm August 9, 2019 Demonstrations continued at Hong Kong’s airport on Friday as protesters waved banners and handed out leaflets in multiple languages to visitors at the arrivals hall. Hundreds of young people turned out in support, wearing black T-shirts, and warned of a weekend of planned protests across the city. Read more: Hong Kong protests: General strike brings [...]
Trump: Fed interest rates harming US exporters August 8, 2019 US President lashed out at the Federal Reserve today, saying a high dollar, which he blames on Fed policy, is hitting US exporting giants. The President, not a stranger to Fed-bashing said that he was not “thrilled” by the strength of the currency. Read more: A belligerent President has an effect on us all “The [...]
Listed litigation funders scramble to avoid Burford contagion August 8, 2019 Listed litigation funders have distanced themselves from Burford Capital today, after a short seller attack yesterday sent Burford’s shares on a rollercoaster ride. Manolete Partners and Litigation Capital Management (LCM) today pointed out how their models differ to Burford’s after their shares fell steeply yesterday in reaction to the short-seller attack on Burford. Activist Muddy [...]
Evraz hails ‘healthy’ results despite massive drop in profit August 8, 2019 Miner Evraz released a set of “rather healthy results” today even as net profit dropped by more than two thirds in the first half of the year. Lower prices for vanadium and coking coal took a 22 per cent chunk off the company’s earnings before interest, tax appreciation and amortisation (ebitda). Read more: Sterling falls [...]
FCA: Ballooning exchange-traded fund sector no threat to financial stability August 8, 2019 Britain’s financial watchdog has said the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) market is not a threat to financial stability and can cope with the sort of liquidity issues that damaged Neil Woodford’s flagship fund. Read more: New business down at Hargreaves Lansdown as Woodford scandal bites The wider world of funds has come under scrutiny after Woodford’s [...]
UK GDP preview: Banks down, sterling ready to break out? August 8, 2019 | City Talk Ahead of the UK Q2 GDP print on Friday, gilts and UK bank stocks betray concerns about the economy that the official figures are likely to back up. Meanwhile GBPUSD is nearing the end of a narrowing wedge that could signal it’s ready to move out of its August range on whatever the GDP point [...]
European stock markets buoyed as Chinese trade beats expectations August 8, 2019 European stock markets have risen this morning, following their Asian counterparts higher after better-than-expected Chinese trade data. Read more: China hits back after US labels rival a currency manipulator Official data showed Chinese exports benefited from a falling renminbi and rose 3.3 per cent in July year on year, far exceeding analysts’ expectations of a [...]
Sterling to tumble further as no-deal Brexit worries intensify August 8, 2019 Sterling will continue its losing streak and tumble further as a no-deal Brexit becomes increasingly likely, a Reuters poll of foreign exchange analysts has found. Read more: Sterling resumes fall as Brexit debate takes bizarre turn The pound will slide beyond recent two-year lows against the dollar to trade between $1.17 and $1.20. It slumped [...]
US and European stock markets diverge as trade war jitters continue August 7, 2019 US stock markets fell today and investors bought up so-called safe haven assets as central banks around the world slashed interest rates in response to slowdowns. Read more: China hits back after US labels rival a currency manipulator European stocks climbed, however, as deals in the German chemicals sector provided a welcome boost to equities [...]