Before the Bell: After US stimulus boosts global sentiment, traders look to ECB today March 11, 2021 The muted mood in government bond yields played a role in the rally enjoyed by stocks yesterday. In the past few weeks, rising yields acted as a catalyst to declines in stocks, while on the other hand, when yields have held steady or slipped, that has typically triggered the buying of stocks. “Yesterday was like [...]
Greensill’s downfall: Ripples of panic as flaw in shadow banking spin led to firm’s tragic end March 10, 2021 It has been a week from hell for Greensill Capital. Just a year after Australian financier Lex Greensill sought a $7bn valuation, his boutique bank filed for administration this week as his lawyers appeared before a UK court on Monday. What is likely to turn into the tragic end to what once was a City [...]
Before the Bell: Hyperactive price action across numerous asset classes March 10, 2021 Markets continued with their skittish tail-chasing price action overnight, with the Nasdaq leading the charge higher, starkly reversing course after a few tough days at the office. The US Dollar duly fell in militaristic-like lockstep, and even gold found some friends as it rallied strongly. The sharp reversal of the previous sessions can be laid [...]
Higher yields not necessarily bad news for stocks, argues City-based investment veteran March 9, 2021 The spike in yields of late has sent shivers through stock markets, which recently reached an all-time high and whose valuations have been labelled as ‘stretched’ by more than one analyst. But this rise in yields, if contained, is not necessarily bad news for stocks. In fact, it suggests that the rotation into reflation-driven cyclical [...]
Before the Bell: Who does not love a $120bn auction? March 9, 2021 Starting today, tomorrow and Thursday, the US Treasury will hold a total of $120bn auctions of government bonds in the 3-year, 10-year, and 30-year tenors. All eyes will be on the bid-to-cover ratios after a recent 7-year auction saw that ratio slump. If markets’ appetite for US government debt at these levels disappoints, Jeffrey Halley, [...]
The Week Ahead: ITV, Rolls Royce, Morrison, ECB and UK GDP data March 8, 2021 It’s Monday morning. City A.M. looks ahead at what this week has in store. China Trade for February This morning – The Chinese economy finished 2020 on a strong note, its surplus hitting a record high in December. Exports rose by 18.1 per cent, slightly down from November’s 21.1 per cent but still better than expected, [...]
£54bn pandemic export hit: UK losing market share in US, Germany and China March 8, 2021 The UK’s goods exports slumped by £54bn in 2020 and Britain lost market share to its main competitors as Covid-19 hammered global trade, according to new research published this morning. The findings, from Aston University’s Lloyd’s Banking Group Centre for Business Prosperity, showed that Britain suffered a 14.7 per cent drop in goods exports, one of [...]
Before the Bell: Europe set for positive start despite softness in Asia markets March 8, 2021 No one can complain about a lack of volatility in financial markets at the moment. The tug-of-war between economic recovery and inflation risks continued on Wall Street on Friday and spilt out onto the street in Asia. Friday’s outsized 379,000 gain in Non-Farm Payrolls caused US yields to spike initially. Still, equity markets just couldn’t [...]
UK-Kenya trade deal in jeopardy as mood in Nairobi turns outright hostile March 5, 2021 The future of the recently signed trade agreement between the UK and Kenya seems increasingly uncertain as MPs and a group of farmers in Nairobi are threatening to shoot down the pact. Yesterday, multiple Kenyan lawmakers came out against the trade deal, saying the agreement is ‘illegal’ under Kenyan law, while a collective of farmers [...]
Budget reactions: Optimism and relief to Sunak’s plans March 4, 2021 Following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement yesterday, of a raft of new support measures alongside plans to shore up Britain’s finances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the details of this year’s Budget gradually become clear to SMEs, entrepreneurs, startups and others in London and across the country. Sunak set out extensions to the furlough [...]