$15m FedEx Cup play-offs offer Tommy Fleetwood chance to go one better than his runner-up finish at The Open August 5, 2019 With a $15m top prize for the winner, the FedEx Cup play-offs, which begin this week at the Northern Trust and conclude with the Tour Championship later this month, have become a huge event in the golf calendar. The format of the competition doesn’t always make it easy to follow but the rewards on offer [...]
Donald Trump accuses Beijing of currency manipulation August 5, 2019 US President Donald Trump has accused China of currency manipulation and said the Federal Reserve should act to lower the value of the dollar. Read more: Markets in turmoil as Chinese currency falls to financial crisis levels Trump tweeted: “China dropped the price of their currency to an almost a historic low. It’s called “currency [...]
Global markets recoil and China warns of retaliation after Trump trade war threat August 2, 2019 Stock markets around the world have fallen after a sharp escalation in the United States’ trade war with China. Indices in the US fell after the open, amid fears of an economic slowdown if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose a further 10 per cent tariff on $300bn worth of Chinese [...]
US employment reaches new high as country adds 164,000 jobs in July August 2, 2019 The United States added 164,000 jobs last month, suggesting the economy is cooling but not as much as analysts had feared. The gain was well down on June’s figure of 224,000, but was roughly in line with economists’ forecasts of around 165,000 for July. Read more: FTSE 100 sinks into red on Trump’s threat to [...]
Trump tariff talk spooks Wall Street August 1, 2019 US president Donald Trump sent shockwaves through Wall Street tonight after revealing plans to slap more tariffs on Chinese goods in the latest trade battle between Washington and Beijing. In a string of tweets, Trump spooked investors after announcing 10 per cent tariffs on another $300bn (£247bn) of goods following this week’s talks between the [...]
Bank of England downgrades UK second quarter growth to zero as Brexit looms August 1, 2019 The Bank of England said UK growth ground to a standstill in the second quarter of the year due to the unwinding of Brexit stockpiling and car plant shutdowns as it chose to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75 per cent today. In its latest gauge of the economy, released today, Threadneedle Street downgraded its [...]
Sterling tumbles below $1.21 on Fed rate cut and no-deal fears August 1, 2019 Sterling fell against the dollar today in reaction to the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates last night and continued fears over a no-deal Brexit. Sterling fell below $1.21 today for the first time since January 2017. At the time of writing, sterling had climbed back above $1.21 and was trading at $1.2106. Read more: [...]
Standard Chartered hikes profits despite US-China trade war impact August 1, 2019 Standard Chartered boosted profits in the first six months of 2019, but warned of the impact of the US-China trade war on global market sentiment. Read more: MPs turn up the heat on Standard Chartered boss in pension pay row The figures Underlying profit before tax increased 11 per cent year on year to $2.6bn [...]
Trump hits out at Fed rates cut July 31, 2019 President Donald Trump renewed his scathing attacks on the US Federal Reserve late this evening after its chair downplayed the chances of a lengthy series of rate cuts. The central bank lowered its main federal funds target rate by 25 basis points (0.25 percentage points) to between two and 2.25 per cent tonight, marking the first time [...]
Fed cuts interest rates by a quarter point July 31, 2019 The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis this evening, as it cited signs of slowing global growth for the highly-anticipated move. The central bank lowered its main federal funds target rate by 25 basis points (0.25 percentage points) to between two and 2.25 per cent, making borrowing [...]