FTSE 100 shrugs off Israel-Iran strikes June 16, 2025 The FTSE 100 was unmoved by simmering tensions in Israel and Iran, despite reports that the UK was scrambling to send fighter jets, and conflict in the Middle East was on the brink of a significant escalation with US involvement. The UK’s leading index was up 0.2 per cent after the first hour of trading, [...]
Trump launches fresh attack on Fed as jobs data disappoints June 4, 2025 US president Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell as the latest data paints a gloomy picture of the health of the world’s largest economy. Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said that Powell was “unbelievable,” after May data revealed the worst ADP jobs numbers in [...]
UBS creates AI tool to monitor interest rate cuts May 21, 2025 UBS has created an AI model that takes a view on central bank’s hawks and doves when interest rates are set in a bid to cut through the noise of hard-to-read press conferences. In a new policy paper spanning 38 pages, the Swiss bank revealed that its new tool is adept at “measuring the tone [...]
Fed expected to hold interest rates and vex Trump May 7, 2025 The US Federal Reserve will not bring interest rates down until July, Goldman Sachs has predicted, in what may spark a fresh conflict between President Trump and Fed chair Jerome Powell. The world’s most powerful central bank has held back from making interest rate cuts due to a foggy outlook on what a trade war [...]
Argentex shares crash as firm fights to survive May 6, 2025 Argentex shares plummeted nearly 90 per cent in early Tuesday deals as the firm resumed trading on London’s AIM. The embattled currency firm suspended its shares from trading on April 22 after it said its liquidity had significantly worsened as the US dollar weakened. The company then agreed to a takeover from rival IFX on [...]
The Fed shouldn’t hit back at Trump, just talk louder April 24, 2025 The problem with Trump’s “major loser” jibes at the Fed isn’t that they’re wrong (though they are), it’s that they’re being heard, says Tim Focas If you closed your eyes and listened to President Trump lambast Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, you might think you were watching this Sunday’s Wrestlemania, not a political announcement. “Major [...]
Will the price of gold keep going up? April 22, 2025 The US-China trade war rumbles on. Investors are digging their trenches. The dollar is losing its force while the price of gold is going ballistic. A week ago, UBS made what some saw as a bold prediction that gold would reach $3,500 per ounce by December 2025. That milestone has already been hit. Scarred stockholders [...]
FTSE 100 down after US stocks slump April 21, 2025 The FTSE 100 opened seven points down on Tuesday morning, following a major US market slump on Bank Holiday Monday. US stock markets took another hit on Monday, with the S&P 500 closing down 2.38 per cent – at 5,158 – while the Nasdaq fell 2.5 per cent and and Dow Jones slumped 2.48 per [...]
Will US Fed chair Jay Powell be fired by Trump? April 17, 2025 The fate of US Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell looks increasingly uncertain as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on the central back to cut rates faster. Powell has been resolute that he will not be influenced by Trump’s attempts to sway the Fed, instead sticking to its mission of bringing down any inflation that [...]
S&P 500 slumps on open as Treasury yields remain elevated April 10, 2025 US markets have opened down after digesting the implications of Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs. The Nasdaq opened down 2.7 per cent, while the Dow Jones fell 1.9 per cent and the S&P 500 opened 2.3 per cent down. Meanwhile, US Treasury yields have remained elevated, with the 30-year US Treasury sitting [...]