China is drowning in private sector debt: There’s no telling how this one will end January 20, 2016 The eyes of the financial and economic worlds are now fixed on China, with focus predominantly on Chinese stock markets and the country’s GDP figures. A fascinating perspective was provided last week in the leafy borough of Kingston upon Thames. The university there has recruited the Australian Steve Keen as head of its economics department, [...]
Global financial market turmoil dents investor sentiment January 20, 2016 Investor sentiment has fallen to its second lowest level since July 2013, according to figures released this morning. The Lloyds Bank Private Banking investor sentiment index, compiled from survey data, dropped to a score of 4.55 per cent this month. It was the lowest since September last year when a big rout in Chinese stocks sent [...]
Oil prices: Brent crude inches above $30 per barrel January 19, 2016 Oil prices rose above the $30 per barrel mark today, as traders weighed mixed messages from global oil markets. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped as much as five per cent to above $30 per barrel today. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the US benchmark, rose 1.8 per cent to $29.96. It came as data [...]
FTSE 100 opens higher despite weak Chinese economic data as miners including Anglo America, Glencore and BHP Billiton rally January 19, 2016 The FTSE 100 index opened higher today despite data from China that showed its economy growing at its slowest rate in 25 years. The UK's blue-chip index opened 1.64 per cent up at 5,872 points, led higher by miners. Yesterday markets were weighed down by "continued risk aversion and weakness in oil prices, as concerns grow over further deflationary forces rippling [...]
Chinese growth falls to 25-year low – but markets shrug it off January 19, 2016 They say forewarned it forearmed, and Chinese markets seemed to agree last night, after they shrugged off potentially devastating growth figures. The country reported gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.9 per cent in 2015, the slowest pace of annual growth since 1990. But while the figure was disappointing, it was broadly in line with [...]
Why China’s devaluation of the yuan is good for the UK January 19, 2016 The UK knows only too well what it means to have an overvalued currency – sterling’s strength has dulled the competitiveness of the UK’s export-oriented manufacturing industry for decades. Even though the UK earns around 30 per cent of its GDP from exports, the continuously large trade deficit on goods means that overall trade is [...]
China: Why international investors are right to be nervous January 19, 2016 A quote I saw a few days ago has stuck in my mind: “what happens in Beijing won’t stay in Beijing”. We should be pretty acclimatised by now to Chinese market sell-offs, a super volatile oil price, geopolitical instability, and to a marked slowdown in global growth. And yet the Dow shed more than 1,000 [...]
Private equity firms dine out on restaurant chains January 19, 2016 The restaurants and bar sector was a veritable feeding frenzy of deals last year, with more choice of companies to buy than an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. Robust trading conditions thanks to improved consumer spending provided an opportune time for private equity companies to sell long-term investments to rival buyout firms with cash to spend. CBPE’s sale of [...]
Labour MP Anna Turley and steel workers union Community call for Business Minister Anna Soubry to oppose China’s bid for market economy status January 18, 2016 A trade union and a Labour MP today urged the government to oppose China's bid to become a market economy in the light of the damage it could cause to the UK's steel industry. The Labour MP for Redcar, Anna Turley, whose constituency has been affected by the job losses in the steel industry, told City A.M. [...]
HSBC expansion curtailed by China slowdown January 18, 2016 London based HSBC has had its expansion plans throughout Asia dashed by slowing economic growth in China and increased market volatility throughout the region, according to Moody's Investors Service. The bank, which is still considering whether to move its headquarters to Hong Kong or possibly the US, pulled in around 60 per cent of pre-tax [...]