A SEA OF RED August 8, 2011 WORLD MARKETS CONTINUE LURCH DOWNWARDS INVESTORS fled stocks on both sides of the pond yesterday, as financial turmoil further engulfed markets. In New York, the Dow Jones index closed down 5.55 per cent; the Nasdaq shed 6.9 per cent; and the S&P 500 lost 6.66 per cent. By the close of trading last night every [...]
Prime Minister finally cuts short holiday as London burns August 8, 2011 PRIME MINISTER David Cameron has returned to London this morning to chair a crisis meeting on the riots, as violence spread across the country and fires blazed in hotspots throughout the capital. Downing Street confirmed last night that Cameron will cut his holiday short to return to London overnight and chair the meeting of the [...]
BofA hit by AIG’s $10bn legal action August 8, 2011 BANK of America shares fell to their lowest level since April 2009 over fears of the slowing US economy and challenges to a multi-billion dollar mortgage settlement. Although most bank shares were knocked by the market turmoil, Bank of America’s shares were worst hit after insurer American International Group (AIG) said it would sue the [...]
London’s day of shame: plunging markets, mob rule and absent leaders August 8, 2011 THESE are terrible, depressing times. London is burning. Gangs of criminals have been allowed to roam unchecked, with our horrifyingly powerless authorities failing to bring the situation under control. To those of us who love London, yesterday was a day of gloom, shame and shared pain. The images of dozens of shops, homes and cars [...]
Italy’s Berlusconi faces calls to resign August 8, 2011 ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is facing calls from opposition politicians for him to resign over his handling of the country’s mounting debt crisis. Though Italian bond yields dropped to just above five per cent yesterday following the European Central Bank’s intervention in the market, the opposition accused Berlusconi of surrendering sovereignty to EU authorities. [...]
Supermarkets cut petrol prices as oil tumbles August 8, 2011 SUPERMARKETS have cut the price of petrol from near-record levels after the cost of oil tumbled in the face of continuing fears over Eurozone debt, the US downgrade and plunging stock markets. Asda was the first of the big retailers to announce yesterday that it would cut the price of unleaded petrol and diesel by [...]
Trading floors fight freefall August 8, 2011 AS THE dealing floor at IG Group waited nervously for the “US open” at 2.30pm yesterday after Friday’s carnage in the global markets, the atmosphere was surreal. The trading floor was eerily quiet as Dow Jones opened down almost 220 points on the close of Friday, punctuated by the occasional “excellent” in the voice of [...]
Germany says fund size to stay August 8, 2011 GERMANY said that it remained opposed to expanding the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), just hours after the European Central Bank (ECB) agreed to buy Italian and Spanish bonds, in an attempt to prevent financial market chaos. “The EFSF will remain what it is,” a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday. The stance [...]
Greece puts halt on short-selling August 8, 2011 SHORT-SELLING will be banned on the Athens bourse for two months starting this morning, Greece’s stock market regulator said yesterday. The Athens bourse index closed down six per cent last night, a fall nearly twice as steep as that of European peers. “The board of the capital market commission, after considering the urgent circumstances on [...]
INSIDE THE ECB’S BOND STRATEGY August 8, 2011 Q.WHAT DOES THE ECB HOPE TO ACHIEVE? A.By purchasing Italian and Spanish bonds, the European Central Bank is aiming to stop further contagion across debt-burdened sections of the Eurozone. Q.HAVE ANY PURCHASES BEEN MADE SO FAR? A.While the ECB is thought to have entered the market yesterday, after an 18 week hiatus, details of its [...]
