FTSE 100 extends rally as investors eye MPC meeting September 23, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 continued its rally today as investors mull whether the Bank of England will follow the US Federal Reserve’s example and signal bond buying will taper this year. The capital’s premier index added 0.50 per cent to reach 7,119.04 points during the first hour of trading. The blue-chip index has recovered from heavy [...]
Markets today: Fed tilts towards a taper, Bank of England up next September 23, 2021 European markets underwent another strong session yesterday, as concerns about Evergrande diminished further, while markets in the US shook off their early week malaise by finishing close to the highs of the day in the wake of last night’s Fed meeting, which despite what looked like a fairly neutral statement, saw the central bank outline [...]
FTSE 100 tops 7,000 as investors eye Fed rate decision September 22, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 topped the 7,000 this morning as investors shift their focus from the potential impact if embattled Chinese property developer Evergrande collapses to today’s rate decision by the US Federal Reserve. The capital’s premier index climbed 0.87 per cent to 7,041.72 points during early exchanges. The US central bank will announce its next [...]
British Steel: 50-fold increase in power prices limiting daily operations September 22, 2021 The UK’s second-biggest steel producer said rising power prices had made it impossible to produce profitably at certain times of day. British Steel said there had been an up to 50-fold increase in quoted rates, with a maximum price at peak times of up to £2,500 per megawatt hour, compared with an average rate of [...]
Boris Johnson’s endurance on immigration will be put to the test by labour shortages September 22, 2021 I always loved interviewing Stuart Rose. He was great company and if you stayed quiet long enough after asking a question, he’d give you a quote that made his press officers wince. Unfortunately for the former M&S chief, his honesty caused his downfall in Westminster when – as a Remain supporter during the Referendum campaign [...]
Easing Evergrande fears lift FTSE 100 as investors brace for Fed rate decision September 21, 2021 The FTSE 100 rallied today to cancel out sharp losses registered yesterday, driven by easing fears over the fallout if heavily indebted Chinese property Evergrande collapses. The capital’s premier index finished up 1.12 per cent at 6,980.98 points, up from this week’s starting position of 6,963.64 points. Global markets sold off sharply on Monday, triggered [...]
Unease about economic outlook grows as rising prices fuel stagflation concerns September 20, 2021 The last few weeks has seen equity markets struggle to make gains of any significant size, and all the while concerns have been rising about a number of different factors. The lack of a clear narrative, whether it be positive or negative, has seen markets churn in both directions since July, with any number of [...]
China doubles down on private sector onslaught September 19, 2021 China’s top regulators have defended their intensifying clampdown on several industries of the country’s economy at a meeting with Wall Street executives. The vice chair of the China Securities Regulatory Commission told leaders of some of the US’s largest companies that its crackdown of consumer-facing and tech businesses was intended to improve data privacy and [...]
China: what zero tolerance, supply chain disruption and floods mean for economic growth September 17, 2021 Ongoing disruptions mean that we have lowered our forecast for growth in China this year. Activity lost due to outbreaks of Covid and supply chain bottlenecks will be largely recouped, but the lagged effects of past policy tightening are only just starting to take effect. As a result we continue to expect growth to slow [...]
Largest-ever wealth drop: Chinese e-commerce mogul loses $27bn September 17, 2021 The founder of a Chinese e-commerce platform has reportedly seen his wealth nosedive $27bn this year – the largest wealth drop in the world on record. Colin Huang, who made his wealth through his platform Pinduouo (PDD), has suffered as a result of China’s hawkish regulations on internet and technology firms. The biggest plunge in [...]