Trump tariff talk spooks Wall Street August 1, 2019 US president Donald Trump sent shockwaves through Wall Street tonight after revealing plans to slap more tariffs on Chinese goods in the latest trade battle between Washington and Beijing. In a string of tweets, Trump spooked investors after announcing 10 per cent tariffs on another $300bn (£247bn) of goods following this week’s talks between the [...]
Tariffs hurting US manufacturers, says Trump’s ex-economic adviser August 1, 2019 US President Donald Trump’s trade wars are hurting American manufacturers and investment, according to his former top economic adviser Gary Cohn. Read more: Donald Trump lashes out at China as two sides meet for trade talks He also said the Chinese economy would have slowed down “with or without a trade war”, contradicting his ex-boss’s [...]
US health firm Centene invests in digital health startup Babylon August 1, 2019 US healthcare giant Centene Corporation is said to be investing tens of millions of pounds in British startup Babylon Health. The Missouri-based health company will inject $50m (£41m) into the tech firm as part of a fresh funding round, Sky News reported. Read more: Saudi Arabian wealth fund set to invest in digital health startup [...]
Bank of England downgrades UK second quarter growth to zero as Brexit looms August 1, 2019 The Bank of England said UK growth ground to a standstill in the second quarter of the year due to the unwinding of Brexit stockpiling and car plant shutdowns as it chose to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75 per cent today. In its latest gauge of the economy, released today, Threadneedle Street downgraded its [...]
UK manufacturing sector ‘suffocating’ as output falls to seven-year low August 1, 2019 The UK’s manufacturing sector is “suffocating” from a poisonous mix of lower global economic growth and Brexit uncertainty, a closely-followed economic measure found today. Production volumes nosedived to a seven-year low in July, IHS Markit’s UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed. Meanwhile the sector was stuck in a contraction, with July’s PMI score of [...]
‘Sea of red’: Eurozone manufacturing output sinks to lowest level since 2012 August 1, 2019 Germany deepened the Eurozone’s downturn as confidence in the area’s manufacturing sector hit its lowest level since December 2012 last month, fresh data today revealed. Economists warned the Eurozone was ired in a “sea of red” as Germany’s manufacturing output plunged to an 84-month low and Ireland to a 75-month low. France’s 49.7 measure represented [...]
London Stock Exchange seals $27bn Refinitiv deal in bid to build Bloomberg rival August 1, 2019 London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) said today it had sealed a deal to buy data business Refinitiv in a transaction worth $27bn (£22.3bn). LSEG is buying the business in an all-share transaction from Thomson Reuters and a consortium led by private equity firm Blackstone which includes an affiliate of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and [...]
Trump hits out at Fed rates cut July 31, 2019 President Donald Trump renewed his scathing attacks on the US Federal Reserve late this evening after its chair downplayed the chances of a lengthy series of rate cuts. The central bank lowered its main federal funds target rate by 25 basis points (0.25 percentage points) to between two and 2.25 per cent tonight, marking the first time [...]
Fed cuts interest rates by a quarter point July 31, 2019 The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis this evening, as it cited signs of slowing global growth for the highly-anticipated move. The central bank lowered its main federal funds target rate by 25 basis points (0.25 percentage points) to between two and 2.25 per cent, making borrowing [...]
Cryptocurrencies have ‘no intrinsic value’, warns FCA July 31, 2019 Investors should be cautious over cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as they have “no intrinsic value”, the City regulator has warned. In a statement released today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said consumers must ensure they understand and can bear the risks of volatile digital currencies. Read more: US senators grill top exec over Facebook’s Libra [...]