FTSE 100 index closes down as concerns over China cause mining stocks to fall January 6, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed down today, dragged lower by mining stocks as concerns over China continued. The index closed 1.04 per cent down at 6,073 points, despite strong gains made by BAE Systems. "BAE topped the FTSE 100, as investors sought out defence stocks after North Korea’s nuclear weapon test," said Jasper Lawler, an analyst at [...]
China meddling causes investor concern as markets manage to regain some ground January 6, 2016 Markets in China have recovered some of their lost ground as the government’s control measures kicked in, furthering concerns that increased Chinese government meddling is creating an artificial market. State-run Chinese media has reported that a ban on institutional investors selling more than five percent of shares would remain in place indefinitely. It’s thought the [...]
State postpones fears of a sell-off in China markets January 5, 2016 Chinese authorities gave the country's stock and currency markets a boost yesterday when they resumed buying shares, despite vowing not to at the tail end of 2015. State controlled financial institutions, known as the “national team”, were widely credited with buying up shares by analysts and traders, many of which were critical of the government’s intervention [...]
A bad start to the year for Sainsbury’s, Anglo American, Aberdeen Asset Management and Burberry, who top the list of most shorted shares of 2016 January 5, 2016 Sainsbury's yesterday revealed it had made an approach to takeover Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Homebase, in a bid to reverse its faltering fortunes. The report came as the extent of the Big Four supermarket’s woes were laid bare by new data revealing that its shares were the most shorted on the [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index closes up on miners despite losses in Next and Sainsbury’s January 5, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed up today, outperforming other European markets, as miners made gains. The index closed 0.72 per cent up at 6,137 points, despite losses in Next, Sainsbury's and stocks in companies with exposure to China. Miners ended the day higher, with Glencore leading the pack and Anglo American and Rio Tinto not far behind, after [...]
CSI 300, Shenzhen Composite and Shanghai Composite: Asia shares settle after yesterday’s sell-off January 5, 2016 Shares in Asia stabilised after yesterday's market turmoil, which saw China's blue-chip CSI 300 plunge nearly seven per cent. Today, the CSI 300 edged up 0.28 per cent at 3,478.780 points. It had suffered yesterday as weak data sparked a sell-off, triggering circuit-breakers and bringing a halt to daily trading across Chinese stock markets The breakers, introduced in [...]
Brent and US crude oil prices shrug off yesterday’s turmoil January 5, 2016 Oil prices stabilised today, shrugging off yesterday's volatile trading – but fears over a supply glut kept a lid on prices. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 0.35 per cent at $37.09 per barrel in morning trading, while West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, shed 0.33 per cent at $36.64. Oil prices yo-yoed yesterday, driven by an escalating diplomatic [...]
New Year’s Resolutions for the world’s biggest economies January 5, 2016 Here we are – the start of a New Year and 365 fresh new pages to write. These are exciting times for most of us, but I bet in the first few days of 2016 there are already those suffering from pangs of guilt. Yes I’m talking about those New Year’s resolutions: binary promises which [...]
As China fears spark a global market rout, is the country the greatest risk to the world economy in 2016? January 5, 2016 Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor, says YES. You only have to look at the reaction to yesterday’s disappointing data and subsequent global stock market rout to appreciate just how important China has become to international investors. While the US economy is still much larger, relative growth rates mean that China is actually [...]
A vicious circle of state intervention is taking Britain’s energy markets back to the 1970s January 5, 2016 Whether you are a green activist or a poverty campaigner, energy policy under the Thatcher-Major-Blair governments was a striking success. Between 1990 and 1999, prices for domestic consumers fell by 26 per cent and the fall for industrial consumers was even greater. Energy-related greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP fell by 45 per cent [...]