Treasury to cut Bank of England monetary policy committee meetings from 12 to eight July 21, 2015 If you've been getting fed up with months of MPC updates with no change – and let's face it, after six years of the same update, who isn't – then there's some good news. The number of monetary policy committee meetings is about to be reduced to just eight per year, down from 12. This [...]
New Zealand dollar: Rock star no longer – CNBC Comment July 20, 2015 It’s that time of the year again – the excitement of the Ashes is palpable. There are a lot of cricket fans in my office and, although I can’t count myself as one of them, a crash course has taught me that the Antipodean teams often win. Indeed, Sunday marked a crushing defeat for England [...]
Gold’s plunge hasn’t taken it off the table for traders – eToro Tips & Picks July 20, 2015 After a week that has been dominated by earnings and the Greek debacle, traders are now looking to focus on assets that are a little more of the norm. However, with more in the way of earnings yet to come and the risk of Eurozone news again upsetting the balance, traders do still remain risk-off. [...]
Ex-MPC member Danny Blanchflower says rate rise would harm the UK July 17, 2015 Former Bank of England policymaker Danny Blanchflower has warned that an interest rate rise in the near future would harm the UK. Read more: Carney fuels speculation of 2015 interest rate hike "It may well be that the Fed [US Federal Reserve] is going to put off raising so it seems rather strange that Carney is [...]
Markets rise on Greece hopes – but euro falls to eight year low against sterling July 16, 2015 If you're off to soak up some rays in one of Europe's sunnier climates this summer, get euros now: the currency dipped to just over 69p against the pound this morning, its lowest in eight years. Meanwhile, the currency dipped below $1.09 against the dollar for the first time since March. That's largely thanks to [...]
Moody’s sounds alarm over rising UK credit card debt leaving consumers unprepared for interest rate rises July 16, 2015 Credit ratings agency Moody's has sounded the alarm over the rising level of UK consumer debt saying it leaves borrowers increasingly vulnerable to economic shocks. The new report on the risk of rising consumer debt in the UK, found unsecured lending such as credit cards and personal loans jumped to nearly seven per cent year-on-year [...]
Central bankers scent interest rate hikes: Federal Reserve prepares for rise with UK expected to follow later July 15, 2015 An unprecedented era of easy money, seen on both sides of the Atlantic since 2008, could be over by the end of the year, with the Federal Reserve preparing to hike rates and some analysts expecting the UK to follow suit in subsequent months. “If the economy evolves as we expect, economic conditions likely [...]
Dollar dives as US retail sales unexpectedly shrink in June July 14, 2015 The dollar fell after the commerce department said US retail sales unexpectedly fell by 0.3 percent in June, missing economists' expectations for a 0.2 per cent rise. Additionally the retail sales figure for May was revised down by 0.2 per cent to show one per cent growth, down from the 1.2 per cent initially reported. This [...]
Why traders love Netflix despite a likely earnings miss – eToro tips & picks July 13, 2015 As US earnings season starts to heat up, there are a whole host of opportunities this week for traders. A notable example is Netflix, the online streaming service, which reports its earnings tomorrow. By all accounts, we are not expecting blockbuster numbers. The company has been aggressively expanding into different regions and the cost of [...]
EToro popular investor – eToro Tips & Picks July 13, 2015 NOA STRIJBOS The Greece saga may now finally be coming to an end, but I think the Eurozone is still too divided and, in many ways, this makes the dollar the far more attractive proposition at the moment. I think the way the Eurozone has handled the Greek situation is proof enough that the single [...]