Your guide to US results season Q1 2019 April 30, 2019 | City Talk By Jemma Jackson from interactive investor. Home or away? interactive investor comment as US earnings season kicks off ahead of expectations So far, the news has been generally positive, with banks having noted an improvement in Net Interest Margins (the difference between the rate at which they borrow and lend). Industrials have also provided a [...]
US inflation cools in March, adding to pressures on Federal Reserve April 29, 2019 The US inflation rate fell in March, the latest official figures have revealed, in a development that will keep the pressure on the Federal Reserve to hold back from raising interest rates. Read more: Analysts expect outward looking Fed to keep rates on hold The core annual inflation rate fell to 1.6 per cent in [...]
Monetary policy is too crucial to leave in Labour’s meddling hands April 16, 2019 Even by Donald Trump’s standards, it was an extremely Donald Trump thing to do. Last week, the President nominated Herman Cain for a seat on the board of the Federal Reserve, attempting to hand oversight of the world’s largest economy to a maverick gold-standard enthusiast. The nomination appears to be doomed, largely because of the [...]
Are emerging markets really worth the risk? April 2, 2019 At a time when the US Federal Reserve has well and truly capitulated on its hiking path, some emerging markets are not showing signs of relief. Against the dollar, Argentina’s peso is close to an all-time low, the Turkish Lira is teetering near a year-to-date low, and the South African rand is creeping back to [...]
Gold, the Federal Reserve, and the dollar – what’s driving up precious metal prices? March 19, 2019 Gold has been making a comeback. After a long period with little activity last year, the precious metal’s value has risen as stock markets have struggled and fallen. Combine the volatility of equities with the increase in geopolitical fears, and many investors are re-evaluating whether to increase the amount of gold in their portfolios. The [...]
Forget Brexit, corporate debt is a bigger issue March 11, 2019 As a few of you might have been told many times already, today is the latest Brexit D-Day for the UK, and for Theresa May in particular. Now, despite the fact that I am – at the moment that you are reading this – down on a chilly College Green in Westminster reporting on the latest [...]
This investment clock says what assets to buy and when March 11, 2019 | City Talk By Tom Bailey from interactive investor. It’s inevitable that the unremitting global economic cycle will impact stock markets, but when? The economist Paul Samuelson once joked that the stock market has predicted nine of the past seven recessions. But while the over-reactive nature of equity market investors and their poor predictive powers ring true, there [...]
Futuristic entrepreneurs are helping us reach for the stars March 11, 2019 Houston, there is no problem. America is back in the space race. “We’re really at the forefront,” says US President Trump. “Nobody is doing what we’re doing.” He’s right. But in a break with tradition, the US is now leaning on its entrepreneurs, rather than the Federal Reserve, to fund its interplanetary aspirations. The latest [...]
US jobs growth flattens, but is the headline the whole story? March 8, 2019 | City Talk US hiring stalled in February, according to the latest non-farm payrolls report. The economy added just 20,000 jobs last month, down from a stellar 311,000 in January, and well below market expectations of 180,000. The market reaction has been swift; the Dow tumbled over 200 points, a 0.9 per cent loss, immediately after the release to [...]
Why investors should beware increasingly unforgiving debt markets February 20, 2019 | City Talk Last year may have been a tricky one for US markets and investors but it was less so for the country’s businesses – at least, that is, to judge by the headline numbers on US companies filing for bankruptcy. According to figures from BankruptcyData.com, 58 companies totalling $52bn (£40bn) of assets declared themselves bankrupt in [...]