FTSE 100 and US stocks jump after strong Chinese industrial data September 15, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose sharply and US stocks opened higher as investors reacted well to stronger-than-expected economic data from China. Britain’s main stock index was up nearly one per cent during the afternoon session at 6,085 points. The FTSE 250 index – which is made up of slightly smaller firms – climbed 0.6 per cent. [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks tentatively climb after rough week September 11, 2020 The FTSE 100 headed towards the end of the week slightly higher and US stocks recovered some ground after another sell-off yesterday. London’s blue-chip index was up 0.2 per cent at 6,015 points in afternoon trading as official data showed the UK economy grew seven per cent in July. The FTSE 250 of mid-cap firms [...]
Six reasons why automation is poised to accelerate September 11, 2020 Automation has long been a feature of the manufacturing sector, as companies seek to improve productivity and make high quality goods to a specific standard. But we think the level of automation is set for a sharp increase as innovation sparks a new smart manufacturing revolution. In the short term, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought [...]
Non-farm payrolls: 1.4m more Americans back in work in August September 4, 2020 A further 1.4m people entered employment in the US in August as the unemployment rate fell from 10.2 per cent to 8.4 per cent. The increase was marginally above economist predictions of a 1.35m rise. However, the figure was down on July’s increase of 1.7m amid fears the US’ economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic [...]
US jobless claims fall to lowest level since pandemic began September 3, 2020 The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the US fell to its lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic began, new data from the US Labor Department has revealed. Last week, there were 881,000 jobless claims, down 130,000 from the week before. The drop was larger than expected, with a Reuters poll predicting 950,000 [...]
IMF Explains Crypto as Tether Surpasses Bitcoin and Paypal’s Daily Transfer Value September 1, 2020 This week CryptoCompare data shows the price of Bitcoin (BTC) started testing the $12,000 area once again, but moved back down below $11,200 during a correction. Since then, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s new attitude towards inflation, it has been moving up and is now trading at $11,600. Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market [...]
FTSE 100 slides as pound surges but US stocks continue to rise September 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 slumped as the pound soared, but the relentless rise of the big US tech companies continued on a choppy day’s trading. London’s blue-chip stock index slid 1.8 per cent to stand at 5,859 points in afternoon trading. The FTSE 250 index of mid-cap firms shed one per cent. Read more: Asian markets [...]
FTSE 100 falls but US stocks rise as markets weigh up Fed changes August 28, 2020 The FTSE 100 dropped in afternoon trading but US stocks rose as investors digested the US Federal Reserve’s decision to take a more relaxed approach to inflation, a step that supported Wall Street stocks last night. London’s main stock index fell 0.4 per cent to 5,977 points. The FTSE 250 of mid-sized firms climbed 0.1 [...]
Andrew Bailey says Bank of England ‘not out of firepower’ August 28, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the central bank is “not out of firepower” with which to tackle the coronavirus downturn “by any means”. In fact it seemed like the Bank underestimated the amount of firepower it had left before coronavirus hit, the governor told the online Jackson Hole economic policy symposium. Yet [...]
Fed to tolerate higher inflation in major policy shift August 27, 2020 The US Federal Reserve has announced a new approach to monetary policy that will tolerate periods of higher inflation, paving the way for it to leave interest rates near record lows for the foreseeable future. Fed chair Jay Powell announced the central bank would try to achieve inflation averaging two per cent over the longer [...]