Provident Financial to shut doorstep lending arm after 141 years as it crashes to loss May 10, 2021 Troubled sub-prime lender Provident Financial today confirmed plans to shutter its doorstep lending arm as it reported a hefty loss for the full year. The Bradford-based company said it was withdrawing from the home credit market after 141 years, adding that it has begun a consultation process for 2,100 employees. “In light of the changing [...]
Wall Street opens higher after lacklustre jobs data May 7, 2021 Wall Street opened higher this afternoon, powered by gains for major tech stocks after new data showed US jobs growth fell well short of expectations. The Dow Jones opened 0.2 per cent higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up more than 0.3 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. Highly valued tech stocks [...]
Markets today: China sells, Britain builds and the US employ May 7, 2021 European markets saw another day of gains yesterday, though for most of the day it was a bit of a struggle, with the turnaround only happening in the last hour of trading, as US markets shrugged off their early day malaise to turn higher, with the Dow once again posting another record high. The likes [...]
Janet Yellen denies predicting rate hikes after comments roil Wall Street May 5, 2021 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has downplayed comments that rate hikes may be needed to stop the economy overheating as Joe Biden’s spending plans boost growth. Yellen yesterday said that she sees no inflation problem brewing, after her previous comments deepened a sell-off in tech stocks and pushed longer-dated Treasury yields higher. What has Yellen [...]
History is pointing to the dawn of a new age with Bitcoin May 4, 2021 Bitcoin is facilitating a transformation of wealth as uptrends in the price of stocks, commodities, and real estate fuel the gap between rich and poor.
Before the Bell: Could you still sell in may and go away? May 4, 2021 Sell in May and go away is a popular theme when it comes to the stock market. However, traders did quite the opposite on the first trading of May as the US stock indices posted some strong gains yesterday. Having said that, US stock futures are trading flat today, but traders are still a lot [...]
City A.M. TV: Daily Market Snapshot April 30, 2021 Its been a fascinating month for global equity markets in April. Three key themes have dominated: i) a weak US dollar (and strong currencies elsewhere); ii) a strong US company reporting season (with that replicated in other parts of the globe); & iii) a Fed meeting and a reiteration, once again, of the Fed’s super [...]
Sterling slips against US dollar as cautious investors await BoE meeting April 30, 2021 The pound stumbled against the dollar today as traders remained cautious ahead of the Bank of England’s policy meeting next week. Sterling was down 0.2 per cent at $1.392, while holding its ground versus the euro. It brings yesterday’s nine-day high to an end, which followed a slump in the dollar after the Fed waved [...]
FTSE 100 leaps as strong earnings drive index higher April 29, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 was boosted by a series of positive earnings this morning as the index shot up by 0.6 per cent. The blue-chips were buoyed by gains in medical products maker Smith & Nephew, who accelerated to the top of the index after revenue growth in the first quarter. The increase was also supported [...]
Fed keeps rates and bond buying unchanged but notes “strengthened” recovery April 28, 2021 The Federal Reserve has left interest rates and bond buying unchanged but is encouraged by a “strengthened economy”. “Amid progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have strengthened,” the central bank said. The result of the FOMC result is as analysts expected but the vaccine rollout and additional stimulus [...]