Wall Street and FTSE 100 push higher on US inflation shift August 27, 2020 Wall Street opened higher and the FTSE 100 reversed losses this afternoon as investors digested the Jackson Hole central banking symposium, where US Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell spoke. Powell punchy update on the Fed’s monetary policy review buoyed investors and drove gains for US stocks. Read more: Jackson Hole symposium: All eyes on Fed [...]
FTSE 100 drops as investors turn to Jackson Hole August 26, 2020 The UK’s FTSE 100 stock index was flat this afternoon as investors awaited a speech by US Federal Reserve chief Jay Powell tomorrow. It was down 0.01 per cent 6,035 points mid-afternoon. The FTSE 250 index of smaller companies rose 0.6 per cent, however. Read more: Jackson Hole symposium: All eyes on Fed chair Powell [...]
Jackson Hole symposium: All eyes on Fed chair Powell August 26, 2020 After an extremely busy few months, the world’s central bankers may have fancied a relaxing trip to the Teton mountain range in the US state of Wyoming. Yet it’s not to be. The coronavirus pandemic has forced this year’s Jackson Hole economic policy symposium to be held online on 27 and 28 August. Since 1982, [...]
The corporate bond market is set for a record year — but also a dangerous and dysfunctional one August 26, 2020 2020 is going to be a record year for the corporate bonds market. New issue investment grade volume in the first half of the year exceeded $2.5 trillion. Records are also being broken in high-yield junk debt, despite a rising corporate default rate. Last week, the US primary market broke through $1.3 trillion of new [...]
Wall Street hits fresh highs as bull run continues apace August 24, 2020 Wall Street once again closed at record highs this evening as stocks soared on optimism over a potential new treatment for the coronavirus disease. Having last week reclaimed February’s pre-pandemic highs, neither the benchmark S&P 500 nor the Nasdaq showed any signs of slowing down, as the fastest ever recovery from a bear market continued [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks soar on coronavirus treatment hopes August 24, 2020 The FTSE 100 jumped and US stocks hit fresh highs after the US authorised a new coronavirus treatment, lifting the mood among global investors. London’s blue-chip index rose 1.7 per cent to close at 6,104 points. The FTSE 250 index of mid-cap firms rose 0.6 per cent. Read more: Asian stocks climb after Wall Street [...]
A-levels are the tip of the iceberg — biased algorithms are running our lives August 24, 2020 The A-levels debacle has laid bare the stark reality of relying on algorithms to make important decisions. Between the results being announced and the government’s U-turn four days later, public outrage had reached a fever pitch at the idea that an individual could have their life chances limited because of the results other people had [...]
Wall Street ticks up as FTSE 100 sinks into red amid Covid-19 case worries August 21, 2020 Wall Street crept marginally higher this afternoon and the FTSE 100 dropped again as investors weighed up the global economic recovery and pockets of rising coronavirus cases. London’s blue-chip index closed down almost 0.19 per cent at 6,001 points, while the FTSE 250 climbed 0.24 per cent. US markets opened in the red before reversing [...]
Oil prices fall on oversupply and US jobless data August 20, 2020 Oil prices dropped today after it emerged producer cartel faces a huge surplus and the number of new US jobless claims climbed back above 1m. Brent crude fell 2.7 per cent to $44.13 per barrel, while benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down three per cent at $41.62 per barrel. It followed reports that some Opec [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks slide amid fears over global economy August 20, 2020 The FTSE 100 and US stocks fell after the US Federal Reserve gave a pessimistic view of the economy and the number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits unexpectedly rose. Investors are also concerned about rising coronavirus cases. France reported its biggest increase in cases since May and Spain is struggling to deal with its [...]