Visa, King and BG Group deals push global M&A over $4 trillion mark for the first time in November November 4, 2015 Visa's $23.3bn (£15.2bn) offer for Visa Europe on Monday tipped the volume of global mergers and acquisitions over the $4 trillion mark for 2015 so far – the highest it's ever hit by this point in the year. Research by Dealogic showed Visa, along with a gaggle of acquisitive tech and pharma companies, pushed global volumes 38 per cent higher [...]
Janet Yellen: Fed rate hike next month is a “live possibility” November 4, 2015 US Fed chief Janet Yellen just dropped an r-bomb, calling a rate hike next month a "live possibility". In a speech to Congress' House Financial Services Committee, Yellen said if growth continues as expected over the next few weeks, a rate hike is possible – although "no decision at all has been made on that". [...]
British banks eagerly await Visa statement – New York Report November 1, 2015 Visa is the one to watch in the US today, as Britain’s banks line up for a payout from the £14bn sale of Visa Europe. The payments company is expected to be bought out by the US company Visa Inc, when it reports results later on. Tesla, the maker of electric cars, is set to [...]
Wall Street ticks down – New York Report October 29, 2015 The potential for an interest rate hike in December and some disappointing tech earnings reports yesterday hit Wall Street and US stocks ended slightly lower. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 23.72 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 17,755.8, the S&P 500 lost 0.94 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 2,089.41 and the Nasdaq Composite [...]
Glencore, Anglo American and BHP Billiton share price: FTSE 100 miners are getting hammered October 29, 2015 London-listed miners took a beating today as traders digested the US Federal Reserve hints that a December rate hike could be on the card. Anglo American shed five per cent to 534.85p per share, while Glencore slid 4.9 per cent to 109.80p per share and BHP Billiton lost 4.6 per cent to 1,046.75p per share. "The Fed hint that it [...]
US economic growth slows in the third quarter October 29, 2015 US economic growth slowed sharply in the third quarter of this year as businesses scaled back investment, according to official data released today. Gross domestic product grew 1.5 per cent annually between July to September, significantly lower than 3.9 percent in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said. This was primarily due to businesses cutting back [...]
Wall Street up as December hike signalled – New York Report October 28, 2015 The Federal Reserve’s decision yesterday to hold interest rates, amid signals that it might raise them in December, helped to push Wall Street sharply upwards. Stocks initially sold off following the statement, with the S&P 500 erasing close to a one per cent gain, but quickly rebounded to end at the day’s highs as investors [...]
“They’ve hawked it up a bit”: What the economists have to say about the Federal Reserve rates decision and the euro plunge October 28, 2015 The Federal Reserve committee left interest rates unchanged at 0-0.25 per cent this evening, surprising no-one, but sending the dollar soaring. The Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement, “economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace” and said it would assess "labor market conditions, inflation pressures and financial and international developments" at its next meeting in December. Last month, [...]
Pound and euro plunge along with US markets as the Federal Reserve leaves US interest rates unchanged October 28, 2015 The Federal Open Market Committee has held steady and left interest rates in the US unchanged after its two day meeting. US markets have taken a dive as a result, losing the gains from this morning. The S&P 500 was down from highs of 2,083 to 2,065. The Nasdaq dropped from 5,074 to 5,027 and the Dow Jones [...]
FTSE extends falls after commodities drag down index – London Report October 28, 2015 Shares linked to the economic cycle gave up ground yesterday over concerns on growth in some countries and an oversupplied commodity market. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.8 per cent to 6,365.27 points, its biggest daily loss in almost two weeks. Investors avoided strong bets ahead of the outcome of a two-day Federal Reserve [...]