Federal Reserve chair Powell defends interest rate increases following Trump’s criticism August 24, 2018 Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell defended the policy of increasing interest rates to protect the economy today, following President Donald Trump’s attacks on rate increases. Powell said he believes the policy of gradual interest rate increases “remains appropriate” for the US economy. “The economy is strong. Inflation is near our two per cent objective, and [...]
US-China trade war: Markets feel the strain as new tariffs take hold August 23, 2018 Fresh tariffs were accompanied by a war of words between Washington and Beijing today as the superpowers' trade war threatened to escalate. Previously announced tariffs of 25 per cent applying to $16bn (£12.5bn) worth of Chinese goods came into force today, met with equivalent retaliatory measures. China has introduced duties on 333 American products, including coal, steel products [...]
Why Elon Musk is far from alone with his stock market dilemma August 23, 2018 Elon Musk, the divisive entrepreneur, has recently made headlines with the following tweet. In a subsequent blog post, Musk made clear his reasons for wanting to take his electric vehicle company, Tesla, away from the stock market. He expressed his frustration at the distraction caused by wild swings in the Tesla share price and perceives [...]
‘Trump’s worst hour’: President in trouble as close allies fall foul of law August 22, 2018 The White House was thrown into disarray overnight as Donald Trump's former lawyer directly implicated the President in a crime involving hush money to pay off women. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen admitted to breaking US campaign finance laws after paying off the President’s alleged mistresses, while ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort was also found guilty of [...]
Dollar slides after President Trump’s criticism of the Federal Reserve August 21, 2018 President Trump’s criticised the US Federal Reserve yesterday, prompting a downward slide of the dollar to its lowest level for nearly a fortnight. The president commented that he was unhappy with interest rate increase pursued by the Fed and singled out chairman Jerome Powell. “I’m not thrilled with his raising of interest rates, no. I’m not [...]
Vitality Blast: Domestic Twenty20 tournament flourishing despite ECB direction August 16, 2018 The group stages of England’s domestic Twenty20 competition comes to a close tomorrow. But with England’s Test series against India taking much of the attention of late, the Vitality Blast has occupied its own space, largely away from television and the back pages. Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board has been busy blue-sky thinking, [...]
Should you care how much cash you have in your pension? August 14, 2018 In the past you got a job, worked for a company and when you retired your employer gave you a pension. You had very little say over your pension arrangements, let alone any influence as to how or where it was invested. That has all changed and now, as never before, millions of people all [...]
Prime time: Property prices soar for London’s most expensive homes August 10, 2018 Prices for central London’s most expensive properties have risen at their fastest levels in almost three years, amid signs that confidence is starting to return to the capital’s high-end residential market. Central London’s prime house prices rose 1.2 per cent over the second quarter of the year, marking the highest annualised growth since autumn 2015. [...]
The global financial crisis 10 years on: A timeline of the global events that shaped the crash from the credit crunch to the recession and beyond August 7, 2018 Ten years ago this week the credit crunch started to bite. Take a look back at the global events that shaped one of the biggest recessions in history. Early tremors: February to June 2007 Early signs of trouble build, but are mostly missed. The giant Freddie Mac, also know as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage [...]
The Bank of England has an excuse for unreliable boyfriend syndrome | City A.M. August 2, 2018 If the Bank of England does not increase interest rates today, be prepared for fresh criticism of its forward guidance. Governor Mark Carney could once again find himself labelled an “unreliable boyfriend”. But the critics sharpening their knives should pause for thought. Read more: HIKE: Economists say it is time for the Bank of England [...]