Bermudian government reacts with fury as Oxfam report names it world’s worst tax haven December 12, 2016 The Bermudian government has reacted with fury to an Oxfam report that places it at the top of a list of global tax havens. The Oxfam list ranks the countries by how far it judges them to “facilitate the most extreme forms of tax dodging”, including low corporation tax rates and non-cooperation with tax avoidance [...]
Dwindling FX volumes – except for China – are a systemic risk as hedge funds abandon currency markets says BIS December 11, 2016 High-risk investors are abandoning the foreign exchange markets, potentially leaving the financial markets more vulnerable to systemic dangers, according to a group of top central bankers. The decline in foreign exchange volumes has also allowed China’s renminbi to gain market share, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Currency markets have “changed in favour of [...]
Investors eye prospects for 2017 tightening as Federal Reserve rate rise is seen as near certainty December 11, 2016 The US Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates for the first time since December 2015 as it continues attempts to move away from a period of historically low interest rates, with investors set to focus on the prospects for further tightening over the course of 2017. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will [...]
Brexit negotiations uncertainty leads to fall in UK business confidence in investment prospects December 9, 2016 UK business confidence is set to fall in the next two years as companies await further clarity on the progress of negotiations on the country’s future relationship with the European Union after June’s vote to leave. Business expectations of investment show net falls of 3.2 per cent in 2016 and 3.6 per cent in 2017, [...]
US jobless claims fall as last US jobs data before Fed meeting supports rate rise case December 8, 2016 Claims by Americans for unemployment benefits fell this week, adding to the weight of positive economic data in the last jobs release ahead of next week’s update on monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve. The number of initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 258,000, marking the longest streak of claims below 300,000 since [...]
The euro plummets as the European Central Bank extends its quantitative easing programme, but taper begins December 8, 2016 The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced that it will extend its programme of quantitative easing until the end of 2017, although it will reduce the size of the programme. The euro surged briefly on the extension before plunging to wipe out all of the day's gains and fall by as much as 1.1 per cent. [...]
The European Central Bank keeps interest rates unchanged December 8, 2016 The European Central Bank (ECB) is holding interest rates steady, continuing its current policy of ultra-low rates since the Eurozone crisis. The ECB has also announced that it will extend quantitative easing until the end of 2017, although it will taper the size of the stimulus. The interest rate for the main refinancing operations and [...]
The euro hits three-week highs against the dollar ahead of the ECB’s interest rate and quantitative easing decision December 8, 2016 The European Central Bank (ECB) is the only game in town today, as stocks rise across Europe and the euro hits a three-week high in anticipation of this afternoon’s announcement of monetary policy. Against the dollar the euro had broken through $1.08 at the time of publication, after hitting lows in the last month of [...]
London’s jobs market is improving for the first time in six months according to recruiters December 8, 2016 The London jobs market is improving after six months of downturn as demand for permanent staff hits a 10-month high, a new study says. London recruiters reported a net increase in permanent job placements for the first time since April, according to the report by IHS Markit and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). However, [...]
Australia GDP growth goes down under zero for the first time in five years December 7, 2016 Australia’s economy contracted for the first time in more than five years in the third quarter, as investment in housing and by businesses dropped steeply. The quarterly growth rate of Australian gross domestic product (GDP) fell from 0.5 per cent in the second quarter to a contraction of 0.5 per cent from July to September. [...]
