What you need to know before the open – 30/01 January 30, 2014 European markets are expected lower this morning after the Fed’s open market committee made the unanimous decision last night to trim another $10bn off its asset purchase programme. In addition, PMI figures from China showed that manufacturing activity in the country contracted in January. Asian markets slipped on the news, with the Nikkei losing 3.2 [...]
Carpetright issues second profit warning as Netherlands business wears thin January 28, 2014 Flooring specialist Carpetright has issued a second profit warning this morning, as its Netherlands arm saw a “further deterioration”, with “extremely difficult economic conditions” persisting in the third quarter (13 weeks to 25 January). It expects full year underlying pre-tax profit to be "below the lower end of current market expectations." Carpetright, which operates in the [...]
London Report: Growth figures set to show UK’s strong recovery January 26, 2014 GROWTH figures for the fourth quarter are expected to give further proof of Britain’s booming recovery. Economists predict expansion of 0.8 per cent in the final three months – giving the UK its strongest yearly growth since 2007. Jonathan Loynes, of Capital economics, said: “We think that the preliminary estimate of GDP in the fourth [...]
Letters to the Editor – 27/01 – Carney’s low rates, Bonus cap, Best of Twitter January 26, 2014 Carney’s low rates [Re: Mark Carney has been the luckiest of unlucky Bank governors, Friday] The author puts his finger right on the key point when he highlights the issue of mounting imbalances due to low rates. But by the time the pressures become serious and can no longer be ignored, we will have to [...]
What you need to know before the open – 24/01 January 24, 2014 Yesterday, with disappointing economic data from China and a raft of lacklustre earnings reports over the week, markets finally made a marked move downwards. earnings concerns & Chinese data takes Street of Dreams lower – DOW -1%, S&p 500 -0.86%, NASDAQ -0.57% – DOW has lost 2% this month & S&P 1% — David [...]
RBS sells chunk of Charter One ahead of exit from US banking January 7, 2014 RBS QUIT retail banking in and around Chicago yesterday, selling 94 Charter One branches to US Bancorp. The British lender is planning a wider exit from the US, aiming to float its American bank Citizens, which includes Charter One, later this year. It bought into Charter One a decade ago, and is now partly reversing that [...]
Letters to the Editor – 06/01 – Gold speculation, Payday lending, Best of Twitter January 5, 2014 Gold speculation [Re: Here’s why Capital Economics thinks gold will bounce back this year, Thursday] Buying gold at current prices is speculation, and not just over the potential removal of Indian import restrictions. Its price tells you about fear in an economy at any given point – and there just isn’t that fear around that [...]
UK mortgage approvals hit six-year high January 3, 2014 Data released by the Bank of England show that the number of mortgages approved in November rose to 70,758 – the largest number in almost six years, although still far lower than figures pre-recession. Expectations were for 69,000, and the number of approvals beat October's 67,701, providing more evidence of a rapidly growing housing market. [...]
UK mortgage approvals at highest in six years January 3, 2014 Data released by the Bank of England show that the number of mortgages approved in November rose to 70,758 – the largest number in almost six years, although still far lower than figures pre-recession. Expectations were for 69,000, and the number of approvals beat October's 67,701, providing more evidence of a rapidly growing housing market. [...]
What you need to know before the open – 03/01 January 3, 2014 A quiet and steady open is expected for European markets today, as significant data releases remain thin on the ground. US markets closed lower after their first day of trading in 2014, following data that suggested a slowdown in Chinese and US manufacturing expansion. From ETX Capital: At 0430 BST today, FTSE 100 futures are [...]