European Central Bank hikes interest rates for seventh time in a row and Lagarde signals more rises May 4, 2023 The European Central Bank (ECB) today hiked interest rates for the seventh time in a row and slowed the pace of its aggressive campaign to tame inflation, though its chief Christine Lagarde signalled more rises are coming. She and the rest of the governing council sent borrowing costs among the 20 countries using the euro [...]
Federal Reserve bumps interest rates 25 basis points higher in what may be its final hike May 3, 2023 The US Federal Reserve today hiked interest rates for the tenth time in a row in what could be its final move.
FTSE 100 close: London index claws back losses ahead of US Federal Reserve interest rate decision May 3, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 regained ground this today after nursing sharp losses yesterday driven by fears over the global banking system flaring up again. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.2 per cent to 7,788.38 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed 0.27 per [...]
Stephen King interview: Inflation is ‘profoundly undemocratic’ and must be stopped May 3, 2023 What kind of world do we live in today? From an economists’ view, one that’s a lot different from just a handful of years ago. War in Europe. Strained global trade. Government debt stocks at multi decade highs (certainly in the UK). All fixtures of our present day lives. But there’s two things that have [...]
Eurozone core inflation falls, opening door to smaller ECB interest rate hike May 2, 2023 Inflation is receding faster than expected in Europe, raising the prospect of the bloc’s central bank slowing the pace of its interest rates hike this week, new figures out today reveal. The rate of underlying price increases – known as core inflation – in the group of 20 countries using the euro thinned to 5.6 [...]
UK lenders shun emergency Bank of England lending scheme after Credit Suisse collapse May 2, 2023 There was no take up of the Bank of England’s emergency funding scheme in the period it was open daily to lenders as UK banks weathered the storm following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse. In coordination with other monetary authorities around the world, Threadneedle Street increased the frequency of its [...]
Take your seat for the Bank of England, Federal Reserve and central banks’ final act May 2, 2023 This is the final act in central banks’ aggressive interest rate hike cycle. Well, so say most analysts at the moment.
US Fed points finger at Trump-era rollback for SVB demise April 29, 2023 The Federal Reserve on Friday blamed the deregulatory zeal that occurred during the Trump era for contributing to the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, appearing to take a clear stand on an acrimonious policy divide in Washington. Amid the turmoil that Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion unleashed on the financial system last month, some Republicans [...]
FTSE 100 close: Barclays surge fails to prevent losses on London index April 27, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 slipped today, pushed lower by investors wobbling over concerns about the health of the global economy amid banking and interest rate fears. The capital’s premier index dropped 0.27 per cent to 7,831.59 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed [...]
Wall Street rally lifts tech stocks in latest signal US inflation is cooling, now eyes turn to Fed rate decision April 14, 2023 A rally on Wall Street on Thursday lifted stocks to their highest level in almost two months following the latest sign that inflation continues to cool. The S&P 500 rose 1.3 per cent after a report showed inflation at the wholesale level slowed last month by more than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained [...]