IMF raises fresh alarm over Chinese debt time bomb June 14, 2016 Excessive Chinese borrowing is one of the most serious threats to the world economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared, as it urged policymakers to press ahead with reforms. Concluding its annual health check of the world’s second biggest economy, the IMF said getting a grip of the debt problem — particularly in the [...]
The price of bitcoin is back below $700 after making huge gains on Sunday and Monday June 14, 2016 Bitcoin stayed resolutely below $700 (£493) during most of today's trading, after edging to highs of $719 on Monday. By 5pm (GMT), the price of a single bitcoin was worth $673, according to market exchange trader Bitcoinity. After opening at $705.62 on CoinDesk, the price of bitcoin had fallen over four per cent to $674.79 by the evening, [...]
The Fed’s dangerous monetary experiments will continue whoever wins the US election June 14, 2016 The Federal Open Market Committee will be gathering in earnest today, but this hotly-anticipated event now looks like a damp squib after Janet Yellen all but ruled out an immediate rate rise last week. No doubt Fed watchers will revive their usual excitement and frenzy in the coming months, but a potential 0.25 per cent rise [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open June 13, 2016 China's decelerating economy is causing fresh concern across international markets and the International Monetary Fund isn't helping. Here's what you need to know before the US market opens at 14:30 London time. The US market is pointing heavily south ahead of the open. The S&P 500 is down by 0.31 per cent in the pre-market. The Nasdaq [...]
All roads lead to China: Surging demand pushes bitcoin above $700 June 13, 2016 The bitcoin price has breached the $700 (£491) mark today, a mere two weeks after the cryptocurrency broke through the psychological $500 barrier for the first time since August 2014. The price of a single bitcoin has hit a high of $703 according to market exchange trader Bitcoinity, while CoinDesk reported a day-high of $706.70 by around 1.30pm (GMT). [...]
Asda swaps Clarke for Clarke as chief exec says he’ll step down next month June 13, 2016 Well, that was sudden: we knew Asda chief executive Andy Clarke was planning on going – but now the supermarket's owner has said Clarke will step down next month. In a statement this morning Asda confirmed reports Clarke, who has been at the company for more than 20 years – six of which have been [...]
Chinese Uber rival Didi Chuxing raises another $600m – one month after it got $1bn from Apple June 13, 2016 Chinese Uber rival Didi Chuxing has just unveiled another $600m (£423m) round of funding – exactly one month after Apple ploughed $1bn into it. China Life made an equity investment of $300m and a long-term debt investment of two billion yuan, about $305m. Didi Chuxing said the two companies had committed to a partnership on internet-powered financial innovation and other initiatives – [...]
Week ahead: Investors watch BoE and sterling as EU vote nears June 13, 2016 Brexit braying and the Bank of England’s interest rate decision will be closely followed by investors this week. Ahead of the BoE’s announcement on Thursday we’ll hear from the US Federal reserve, and though markets are not expecting a move from either, investors will be paying close attention to the language used by policy makers. [...]
Could Eurozone stock markets be set for a bull run? June 10, 2016 Over the past 12 months, Eurozone equity markets have underperformed US stocks by around 11 per cent in local currency – or nine per cent in dollar terms. There are a number of different reasons for this – but could the equity markets be about to catch up? Slow and steady European hard data suggest that the domestic economy [...]
Twelve reasons Britain is better off remaining a member of the EU June 10, 2016 I studied the process of European integration in some detail at the College of Europe in Bruges where I also became a teaching assistant for a year. I then had the pleasure of doing my PhD thesis at the European University Institute in Florence. So it is probably no surprise that I have a bias on the [...]