Before the Bell: Volatility remains low but Trump faces impeachment vote January 13, 2021 Stock markets had a relatively quiet session yesterday as there wasn’t any major news to influence sentiment in one way or another. European stocks lost ground as Covid-19 case numbers played on traders’ minds. Several governments have tight restrictions in place in a bid to get a handle on the virus – which is having [...]
The best of travel: Spending a week in an ‘apocalypse dome’ January 12, 2021 Throughout January we’re remembering better times and sunnier climes by reposting some of our favourite travel stories from the last decade. In the second instalment, our Life&Style editor Steve Dinneen retreats from civilization to live inside an artist’s “apocalypse dome”. Read more: Pink goes offline as Covid takes the shirt off its back The more we [...]
Before the Bell: Tech firms under pressure as Europe poised for modest rebound January 12, 2021 Equities sold off yesterday as last week’s bullish mood was swapped for a more cautious attitude. There was an absence of positive news yesterday so the stories about the health crisis were at the centre of attention, David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, tells City A.M. this morning. The Chinese authorises announced the [...]
Democrat sweep to open fiscal floodgates and boost growth January 11, 2021 Democrats have completed a sweep of Congress following the double victory in the state of Georgia’s run-off election. The disturbing scenes of protestors storming Capitol Hill last night may have soured the victory, but nonetheless the Democrat party now have control of the Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time since 2009. [...]
M&S sales fall over Christmas quarter as lockdown hammers clothing division January 8, 2021 Marks and Spencer (M&S) saw their sales slip over the quarter leading up to Christmas as new lockdown restrictions cast a shadow over the normally lucrative season. The high street stalwart said that total sales fell 8.2 per cent to £2.5bn in the three months to 26 December. Shares in the retailer fell 1.9 per [...]
Honouring those who went above and beyond in 2020 January 8, 2021 We all know 2020 was tough. Across the country lives were turned upside down and all of us have had to get used to restrictions that we never thought we’d ever see. But as we turn the page into 2021, it’s time to celebrate the highlights of a year that – for many reasons – [...]
Before the Bell: Bulls in control, calm restored to Capitol Hill January 7, 2021 The disturbance at Capitol Hill derailed the process of certifying the Biden electoral victory for a number of hours last night but was then resumed so the final confirmation of Biden’s win should be relatively straightforward. Moreover, the FTSE 100 had a stellar run yesterday as it closed up more than 3 per cent and [...]
This Week: PMIs, Morrisons, Next, US unemployment, Fed, M&S January 4, 2021 City A.M. looks at the first business week of 2021 with Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. Monday: UK PMIs for December Flash numbers in the middle of December were surprisingly encouraging, with manufacturing rising to 57.3. “No doubt due to some pre-Brexit stockpiling. services also managed to rebound a touch, coming [...]
Wall St closes higher, dollar drops as remarkable year winds down December 30, 2020 By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street ended the session in positive territory and the dollar dipped to its lowest in more than two years on Wednesday, the penultimate trading day in a remarkable year of pandemic, recession and recovery. All three major U.S. stock indexes gained modestly, but short of all-time closing highs [...]
The tragedy of America’s foreign policy establishment December 25, 2020 Anthony Blinken was a cut above the rest personally. Well-educated, good-looking, quietly ironical (and quite funny), absorbed in the work at hand, and keenly intelligent, Tony seemed to be in it for the Republic, rather than himself — a rarity in a town built on often unearned self-promotion. Read more: Joe Biden could favour Ireland [...]