Who were 2020’s highest-paid hedge fund managers? February 22, 2021 While other parts of the economy took a kicking amid the pandemic, the hedge fund elite seemed to weather the storm. Institutional Investor’s 20th edition of its Rich List reveals the top 25 hedge fund managers banked a cool $32bn last year. Overall hedge funds returned 11.6 per cent last year, their best performance in [...]
City A.M. TV: Daily Market Snapshot (video) February 22, 2021 After a false breakout to the upside in equity markets early last week, momentum has shifted sharply to the downside. With that, there has been further weakness in key equity index futures markets in Asian trading overnight. As a result, there are now two key factors that we are watching to judge when the downside has played out and, therefore, when to reinstate LONG positions. Those [...]
If the PM wants to make mass testing work – there must be national health passes February 22, 2021 Two things can be true at once: the roll out of vaccinations is by far the most promising development in the pandemic, and the future is still very uncertain. The Prime Minister’s new roadmap announcement this evening will likely leave many questions unanswered. Even when businesses are allowed to reopen, they face an uphill battle [...]
Sterling hits $1.40 for the first time in nearly three years February 19, 2021 Sterling hit $1.40 against the dollar for the first time in nearly three years this morning on vaccine optimism and better than expected PMI readings. The UK’s PMI reading during the third lockdown showed the downturn was less severe than anticipated, pushing cable above the $1.40 mark for the first time in 34 months. “Although [...]
UK PMIs: UK firms fare less badly than expected February 19, 2021 UK firms had a more positive February than anticipated so far, with firms eyeing growth prospects later in the year as the vaccine roll-out continues. The IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index (PMI) jumped to 49.8 in February from 41.2 in January, a far swifter improvement than what was originally feared. The index indicated some stabilisation [...]
NatWest tumbles to £351m loss in 2020 as bank shuts door on Irish market February 19, 2021 NatWest has today announced that it will pull out of its operations in the Republic of Ireland after reporting a £351m annual loss. The bank intends to withdraw from its Ulster Bank but operations will not be affected in Northern Ireland. It will exit the country following a strategic review and send $4.84bn worth of [...]
Before the Bell: All eyes are on UK retail sales and PMI numbers today February 19, 2021 Sentiment in stocks this week has been slowly eroded as the bullish mood that circulated on Monday has since turned a little bearish. At the start of the week, the outlook was upbeat on account of optimism connected to the vaccine rollout. The UK confirmed that it was on track with its vaccination distribution scheme [...]
Big Bang 2.0 will only succeed with a revolution in the back-office of financial services February 19, 2021 Negative news about the new post-Brexit challenges for the UK’s financial services currently dominates headlines. The market structure is still far from settled ahead of upcoming talks between the UK and the EU on equivalence. Whatever level of equivalence is agreed upon will dictate the direction for UK financial services, with some eyeing up an [...]
Pound sterling in touching distance of $1.40 as currencies enter ‘post-Covid world’ February 18, 2021 Pound sterling in touching distance of $1.40 as currencies enter 'post-Covid world'
Wall Street joins FTSE in the red following gloomy jobs data February 18, 2021 Wall Street faced a sea of red this morning as shares slid across the board after an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims highlighted the fragile labour market recovery. A report from the US Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits were 861,000 last week, compared with 848,000 in the prior week. The [...]