Gallant Scotland suffer Rugby World Cup anguish after controversial last-gasp penalty hands Australia 35-34 victory October 19, 2015 Devastated captain Greig Laidlaw insists his fearless Scotland side have a prosperous future after being cruelly robbed of a place in the World Cup semi-final by a contentious last-gasp penalty as Australia prevailed at Twickenham yesterday. Leading 34-32 with a minute remaining, referee Craig Joubert controversially deemed replacement Jon Welsh to be deliberately offside, although [...]
HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver says China’s economy is unlikely to suffer a “hard landing” despite slowdown fears October 16, 2015 HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver has said China is unlikely to have a "hard landing", despite mounting concern over the strength of its economy. "The fears for China's economy are overplayed. I do not believe China will have a hard landing," Gulliver said in a speech today. "The last few months have obviously been difficult… (But) the [...]
Is the tech industry pushing up property prices in London? October 15, 2015 Residents in San Francisco have fallen out of love with the tech sector. They blame its success for driving up house prices and rents. Tensions are rising amid claims of a gentrification led by tech workers. Yet right now, London is in love with tech. Google has committed to King’s Cross, while around Silicon Roundabout [...]
Adam Posen, Simon Wren-Lewis and Lord John McFall to join former rate-setter Danny Blanchflower on Labour committee reviewing the Bank of England’s remit October 15, 2015 Labour economic adviser David "Danny" Blanchflower will be joined by US economist Adam Posen, Oxford professor Simon Wren-Lewis, and former Treasury Select Committee chair Lord John McFall, to develop proposals for a change to Bank of England’s remit. The Bank currently adjusts interest rates to ensure inflation will be two per cent over a two-year horizon. Read more: Blanchflower [...]
Global cash is getting scarcer and US credit flows are supporting China’s fragile financial edifice: Why the world must prepare for the Fed’s QE4 October 15, 2015 Liquidity risks remain elevated. The CrossBorder Capital Global Liquidity Index (GLITM) for September 2015 is stuck at low levels of 39.0 and close to its sub-par August reading. Such poor liquidity underscores a ‘Risk Off’ investment environment characterised by high volatility and by the likelihood that economic activity levels will weaken noticeably over the next six-12 [...]
Virtually flat US retail sales back case for delaying 2015 Fed interest rate hike, say economists October 14, 2015 US retailers sold $447.7bn (£290.1bn) of goods last month, hardly posting a rise compared with August as falling gasoline prices weighed on revenues at petrol stations. Retail sales climbed by 0.1 per cent on the month in September, according to figures released today by the US Census Bureau. The sales figure also marks a 2.4 per [...]
JPMorgan reports third quarter profits up 22 per cent due to tax benefits October 13, 2015 JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reported third quarter profits rising 22 per cent due to $2.2bn (£1.44bn) in tax benefits. The company said in a statement that the quarter reflected the tax benefits "due to the resolution of tax audits and the release of deferred taxes". Net income rose 22 per cent to $6.8bn from [...]
More doubt cast on US rate rise as Fed governor Daniel Tarullo says it would not be “appropriate” October 13, 2015 Another governor at the Federal Reserve has said that interest rates should not rise this year, as the timing is not right for the economy to support the decision. Speaking to CNBC, governor Daniel Tarullo said: "I wouldn't expect it would be appropriate to raise rates." Instead of raising rates this year, the Fed needs to wait [...]
Wall St falls on weak profit expectations – New York Report October 13, 2015 RENEWED fears of a slowdown in Chinese growth and another bout of selling in biotech shares yesterday forced US stocks lower. Ending a seven sessions of rises, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 49.97 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 17,081.89, the S&P 500 lost 13.77 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 2,003.69 and the [...]
Central banks: Stop the focus on inflation – CNBC Comment October 13, 2015 Based on last week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, it seems the Fed’s decision to hold off on raising interest rates at its September meeting was not a close call. The minutes showed that the FOMC was hesitant to pull the trigger, as members remain worried about global growth risks. While most of [...]