Fed officials said rate hike needs to happen in December “to preserve credibility” November 23, 2016 Some Federal Reserve officials said a rate rise needs to happen next month "to preserve credibility", according to minutes of their November meeting released today. They said an interest rate increase was incoming "relatively soon", if incoming data continued to reflect an improving economy, with some explicitly calling for a move next month. Some participants, a [...]
Two thirds of chickens sold in supermarkets are infected with E.coli November 21, 2016 Scientists have found that two thirds of chickens in UK supermarkets are contaminated with E.coli. The study from Public Health England and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) claimed that 78 per cent of chickens sold in high streets in England contained an antibiotic-resistant E.coli strain. This figure dropped to 53 per [...]
Have investors jumped the gun in thinking that the era of low inflation is now over? November 21, 2016 Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney Bestinvest, says Yes. Deep tax cuts, looser banking regulation, massive spending on infrastructure and the military, alongside higher tariffs on imports and tighter immigration restrictions – Donald Trump’s economic policies are inherently inflationary for the US economy, especially against a background of low unemployment. Global bond markets have reacted [...]
We all have lessons to learn from Trump’s shock victory November 17, 2016 Nobody was talking about Wisconsin. There were murmurs about Michigan. There were questions about voter turnout in rural areas of Pennsylvania compared to the cities. Keep in mind, these debates weren’t reflected in the polls; pollsters were almost unanimously calling the election for Hillary Clinton the morning of 8 November. All talk of upsets was [...]
Defiant Janet Yellen confirms she will stay until 2018 and defends Dodd-Frank while saying interest rate rise will come “relatively soon” November 17, 2016 Janet Yellen today confirmed she will serve her full term until 2018 as chair of the Federal Reserve, while readying markets for an interest rate rise to come "relatively soon". In testimony to the Joint Economic Committee in Washington, Yellen also strongly defended the US Dodd-Frank Act, which President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to repeal. On the [...]
Petrol pumps US inflation slightly higher in October November 17, 2016 US inflation increased slightly in October to reach 1.6 per cent year on year, continuing a steady upward trend in the second half of the year. Inflation increased by 0.1 per cent, with petrol prices and housing making the largest contributions. The overall energy sector increased 3.5 per cent, its largest increase since February 2013, [...]
The Federal Reserve’s Janet Yellen will discuss Trump for the first time today as investors look for clues of multiple interest rate rises November 17, 2016 US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will today speak publicly for the first time since the shock election of Donald Trump as President, as investors predict a December interest rate rise. Investors will be listening closely to her testimony to the Joint Economic Committee (UK 3pm/10am EST) for further clues to a widely expected interest [...]
The world’s biggest banks could be forced to break up if Fed’s Neel Kashkari gets his way November 16, 2016 The biggest banks in the US could be forced to break up their operations under new plans to tackle “too big to fail” banks by dramatically increasing their capital holding requirements unveiled by an influential US central bank governor. The risks posed by systemically important “mega banks” were also compared to “terrorism” by Neel Kashkari, [...]
The dollar just reached its highest level since 2003 November 16, 2016 The US dollar has reached its highest level since 2003, as continued concern about the impacts of President-elect Donald Trump’s new era of fiscal policy pushed it over a previous high point in December of last year. The index measuring the dollar against multiple currencies today rose to 100.53 at around midday, before falling back slightly [...]
Donald Trump and emerging markets: Why you should buy the Mexican peso, government and corporate bonds November 16, 2016 If the performance of the dollar and US equities has defied forecasts since Donald Trump’s election, the impact on other assets, like US Treasuries and emerging market (EM) securities, has been grimly predictable. EM corporate debt had been one of 2016’s best performing asset classes, and funds which invest in these countries attracted $47bn from [...]