ECB’s Mario Draghi set to inject stimulus into Eurozone economy – but will it work? September 11, 2019 Mario Draghi tomorrow chairs his penultimate interest rate-setting meeting as president of the European Central Bank (ECB). The question is, will he bring a bazooka to his final battle? Read more: US and European stocks bouyed by ECB rate cut expectations The consensus expectation is that Draghi and co will cut the ECB’s main interest [...]
Donald Trump demands ‘boneheads’ at Fed slash rates to zero September 11, 2019 US President Donald Trump has called US Federal Reserve policymakers “boneheads” and demanded that they drop interest rates to zero “or less”. Read more: Fed will ‘act as appropriate’ to keep US expanding, says chair Jay Powell Trump said close-to-zero interest rates would let the US refinance its debt, meaning replace its existing debt with [...]
China exempts some US goods from further tariffs ahead of talks September 11, 2019 China has exempted 16 US products from additional tariffs, its finance ministry said this morning, in a sign of good will ahead of high-level talks this month and next. Read more: Return of US-China trade talks pushes up Asian markets Products such as animal feed, fish meal, some anti-cancer drugs and lubricants will be exempt [...]
Hong Kong bourse proposes £32bn merger with London Stock Exchange September 11, 2019 Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has made a surprise proposal to buy the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in a £30bn tie-up, it said this morning. Read more: London Stock Exchange seals $27bn Refinitiv deal Yet it said the deal is subject to LSE’s mammoth $27bn (£22bn) merger with financial data provider Refinitiv falling through. [...]
S&P Global Ratings calls for action on climate change September 10, 2019 International ratings agency S&P has called on banks and regulators to address the risks that climate change poses to the financial sector, saying “they need to act now” or suffer the consequences. Read more: New York Times drops London oil conference sponsorship after protests S&P said in a report released today that climate change could [...]
Selfridges to open permanent cinema on Oxford Street September 10, 2019 Selfridges will open a permanent cinema in its flagship Oxford Street store at the end of November, the upmarket department store said today. Read more: Cinema websites crash amid rush for Avengers endgame tickets The cinema is the result of a partnership between Selfridges and boutique cinema the Olympic Studios, which has movie theatres in [...]
UK unemployment fall pushes earnings growth to 11-year high September 10, 2019 The number of Britons without a job fell in the three months to July to a 45-year low, official figures have shown today, helping total earnings growth hit a decade high. Read more: Hiring intentions climb at financial services firms as Brexit nears UK unemployment was estimated at 3.8 per cent in the period May [...]
National Grid calls for security review following massive August power cut September 10, 2019 UK electricity operator National Grid has said the network’s security standards need reviewing following the August power cut which plunged 1m Britons into darkness. Read more: Government sets out scope for probe into national grid outage In National Grid’s report into the outage, published today by energy watchdog Ofgem, it concluded that a simultaneous loss [...]
Hiring intentions climb at financial services firms as Brexit nears September 10, 2019 Firms in the finance and business services sector intend to take on new staff at the fastest rate in over a year as they ready themselves for the 31 October Brexit deadline, a survey has shown today. Read more: BoE chief economist cautions against interest rate cut with employment high Meanwhile, low levels of unemployment [...]
Treasury refuses MPs’ demands to publish Bank of England governor shortlist September 9, 2019 The Treasury has refused the demands of opposition MPs to publish the shortlist of candidates to be the next Bank of England governor, saying it “would not be appropriate” to name names. Read more: Mark Carney misses cut for IMF top job shortlist A group of 28 opposition MPs today called on chancellor Sajid Javid [...]
