Banks gain on rate hike hope – New York Report December 15, 2015 Wall Street rose broadly yesterday but ended far off their session highs ahead of today’s expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 156.41 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 17,524.91, the S&P 500 gained 21.47 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 2,043.41 and the Nasdaq Composite added 43.13 [...]
Energy security and lower prices must take priority after Paris climate change agreement December 15, 2015 George Osborne told Conservative Party Conference four years ago: “We’re not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business… so let’s at the very least resolve that we’re going to cut our carbon emissions no slower but also no faster than our fellow countries in Europe.” These encouraging words alerted many [...]
We’ve reached peak Christmas jumper: How to predict 2016’s must-have fashion December 15, 2015 What would you buy Jeremy Corbyn for Christmas? Printable answers only, please. But somehow a Christmas jumper seems appropriate. First, it would match the 1980s-style shell suit he wore the other day. Second, he might like one featuring a portrait of Stalin and the slogan “Teacher, Leader, Friend”, a phrase in widespread use in the [...]
Britain needs to up its game on broadband – or creaking digital infrastructure will hit growth December 15, 2015 The UK is in the middle of a digital revolution. Over the last decade, the internet has emerged as the lifeblood of the modern world. In towns and cities across the country, businesses, governments and residents are becoming ever more dependent on an abundance of digital services and, consequently, on the wires and cables under [...]
With consumer price index inflation inching up to 0.1 per cent, could the period of persistently low inflation be about to end? December 15, 2015 Kallum Pickering, senior UK economist at Berenberg, says Yes Falling oil prices and sterling appreciation have exerted strong but temporary effects on headline inflation, bringing it to zero for most of 2015. But even if there is more disinflationary pressure to come from oil in the near term, prices cannot fall forever. Eventually, the oil [...]
CV advice for 2016: “Team players” and “good listeners” don’t get hired December 15, 2015 If writing a CV is a difficult task, reading one may be just as taxing. Recent research by the New College of the Humanities found that 59 per cent of employers said they are caused “stress” by grammatical and typing errors on job applications. So if you’re thinking of applying for jobs in the [...]
Forget Janet and Mario: 2016 is the year of GARY – CNBC Comment December 15, 2015 Investors have spent the last few years betting with the Fed and the ECB, as monetary policy dominated fundamentals. But many are now stumped over what to do next, as central bankers today seem to carry more risk and less reward. The ECB’s Mario Draghi let investors down this month with a flawed communications strategy. [...]
Japan: Three years after the Abenomics’ bazookas were fired, the jury’s out on whether the economy is better off – but investors are cheering the Nikkei’s rise December 15, 2015 As he launched the bazooka that would lift Japan’s economy out of decades of stagnation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the world he was firing “three arrows” of “bold policy” which would finally “achieve results”. Three years on, and the jury’s still out on whether Abenomics is showing signs of success. THE [...]
Blue-chip index falls for eighth straight session – London Report December 15, 2015 OIL AND commodity price concerns have continued to drag on the FTSE 100, with the index touching 10-week lows at its close last night. It finished down 1.3 per cent at 5,874, its eighth straight session of losses, and down around 10 per cent so far this year. The price of key metals, including copper [...]
Best of the Brokers for 15 December 2015 December 15, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com INVESTEC Following recent significant weakness in the South African rand, Numis slashed its forecasts for Investec’s financial results. Numis’ earnings per share forecast for this year has been cut 3.5 per cent while next year’s has been cut 8.5 per cent. “We have [...]
