China reports weakest growth in 29 years as trade war bites January 17, 2020 China’s economic growth sunk to its weakest in almost 30 years in 2019 amid a bruising trade war with the US and anaemic domestic demand, with more stimulus from Beijing expected this year. Stocks held firm following the release of the data, which showed that the world’s second largest economy ended the year on a [...]
FTSE 100 falters after signing of phase one US-China trade deal January 16, 2020 The FTSE 100 got off to a weak start on Thursday morning, with global markets mixed overnight following the signing of a phase one trade deal between the US and China. Britain’s blue-chip index opened almost flat, and was trading around 0.05 per cent down by 9am, lagging behind its European peers. Germany’s Dax and [...]
US and China sign long-awaited ‘phase one’ trade deal January 15, 2020 US President Donald Trump and Chinese vice premier Liu He have signed a “phase one” trade deal in Washington that puts in place a fragile peace in the long-running tariff war between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump and Liu put pen to paper in a packed East Room at the White House after months [...]
UK ‘must not let fox into the hen house’ with Huawei decision January 15, 2020 Boris Johnson has been warned not to “let the fox into the hen house” by allowing Huawei to build the UK’s 5G network. Tom Tugendhat, who is running for reelection as chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, today said the embattled telecoms giant was “integrally” part of the Chinese state and could not be trusted. [...]
FTSE 100 subdued ahead of US-China trade deal meeting January 15, 2020 The FTSE 100 has opened almost flat ahead of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese vice premier Liu He, where the pair are set to sign an initial trade deal. Britain’s blue chip index was sitting 0.08 per cent up in morning trading ahead of the signing on Wednesday. Both US and Asian markets [...]
Chipmaker revenue slips amid global oversupply and smartphone slowdown January 14, 2020 Global semiconductor firms suffered a decline in revenue last year as a huge oversupply in the market and a slowdown in smartphone sales took their toll. Semiconductor revenue totalled $418.3bn (£322bn) in 2019, down almost 12 per cent on the previous year, according to figures from research firm Gartner. This was driven by a huge [...]
Chinese car sales tumble again in 2019 January 13, 2020 The Chinese car market was in reverse for the second consecutive year in 2019, as the cooling economy and the nation’s trade disputes with the US hit consumers. Sales slumped 8.2 per cent to 25.8m vehicles last year, after a 2.8 per cent fall to 28.1m in 2018, according to the China Association of Automobile [...]
The changing face of income January 8, 2020 Henderson High Income Trust celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019, having launched in 1989. This was the same year that Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. Given Henderson High Income provides shareholder with a high dividend income by predominately investing in UK companies, this article looks at how the internet has led the UK market [...]
Chinese investment in Europe and North America slumps to nine-year low January 8, 2020 Chinese investment in Europe and North America hit a nine-year low in 2019, new analysis has shown, as Beijing focused increasingly on the domestic economy and geopolitical tensions hurt capital flows. Chinese foreign direct investment in Europe tumbled 40 per cent in 2019 and fell 27 per cent in the US, analysis from law firm [...]
Chinese yuan set for best day in six months as risk appetite returns January 7, 2020 The Chinese yuan was set for its best day in more than six months this morning after investors’ appetite for risk returned and as traders await the signing of a “phase one” trade deal between China and the US. China’s yuan – the unit of its renminbi currency – had risen 0.57 per cent to [...]