FTSE 100 index closes up ahead of Federal Reserve statement as Sage Group and Glencore surge January 27, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed higher on Wednesday, after having opened lower this morning ahead of the Federal Reserve's statement. The UK's blue-chip index closed 1.33 per cent up at 5,990 points. "Global equity prices continue zigzagging on a muddy route. The oil market remains in bears’ hands above $30," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, market analyst at London Capital Group. [...]
US services PMI disappoints, but consumer confidence climbs as Fed meets over interest rates January 26, 2016 The latest US services purchasing managers index (PMI) has come in below expectations, further adding to the challenge faced by the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), who are deciding on whether to change the benchmark interest rate over the next 18 hours. Markit's flash services PMI came in a bit below expectations for January, [...]
Fed expected to hold on interest rates as committee members meet for the first time this year in Washington DC January 26, 2016 The US Federal Reserve is meeting today to decide whether to change the rate of interest from the 0.5 per cent rate it chose at its last meeting in December. The Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged when it releases statement at 7pm GMT tomorrow. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted unanimously to [...]
Tax code needs radical simplification in light of Google’s £130m deal with HMRC, says TaxPayers’ Alliance January 25, 2016 Following the news that Google will pay £130m to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in unpaid corporation tax, the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) has called for the "radical simplification" of the tax code. "Yet again we have a case that demonstrates why we need radical simplification of our hugely complex tax system," said Jonathan Isaby, chief executive [...]
FTSE 100 ends the week in a party mood as oil stocks jump January 22, 2016 After a week of turmoil, the FTSE 100 finished Friday on an upbeat note, closing 2.2 per cent higher, at 5,900 points. Other European stocks followed suit, with the French Cac finishing more than three per cent higher, and the German Dax ending almost two per cent higher. The news followed a bounce in oil prices, with [...]
From every angle, the outlook for global liquidity looks bleak: Policy makers must adopt “QE4” or risk officers must plan for low liquidity future January 21, 2016 Recent investor concerns over decreasing market depth across many fixed income segments reflect more serious downstream problems in funding markets. These problems are now coming to a head, have four components which taken together combine to undermine the long-term supply of global liquidity. They explain why our monthly GLI index measure is declining. Looking ahead, they [...]
Crashing markets don’t herald a descent into global recession January 21, 2016 So the FTSE 100 has joined a wide range of global equity indices now in a bear market. Having peaked in excess of 7,100 in April 2015, the rout in commodities has dragged the index of the UK’s 100 leading shares steadily down over the last nine months. To date there have been three notable [...]
How much does being President of the United States age you? Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W Bush’s aging rates compared January 20, 2016 How much does being leader of the free world age you? Quite a lot, as it turns out. (especially if you get caught fondling the intern) The internet has been buzzing over the difference in Barack Obama’s appearance at his first and last State of the Union speech, a mere seven years apart, with recent [...]
Fed documents reveal internal unease over quantitative easing January 16, 2016 When the Federal Reserve launched the expansion of its quantitative easing programme in 2010, it was despite several policymakers’ misgivings over what impact this would have on the dollar. Documents freshly released from the Fed’s 2010 meeting reveal internal fears that the programme would be bashed internationally as an attempt to send the dollar lower, [...]
New York manufacturing activity index falls to financial crisis-era low January 15, 2016 Manufacturing activity in the New York-area shrank at its fastest pace since the financial crisis. The New York Fed's empire state index fell thirteen points to -19.37 in January, from a revised reading of -6.21 in December. This was the sharpest fall than at any time since the 2007-09 recession. "The new orders and shipments indexes plummeted, indicating [...]