Sweden’s deputy governor Per Jansson to Nobel laureate Paul Krugman: You don’t know what you’re talking about March 16, 2015 Nobel laureate Paul Krugman has got it wrong when it comes to Sweden's fiscal policy, according to the deputy governor of the country's central bank. The influential economist last year compared the country's state to that of Japan, claiming “sadomonetarists” had turned the “rock star of the recovery” into a country plagued by rising [...]
US markets in a panic about Fed rate hike – The week ahead on Wall St March 16, 2015 US STOCK markets are in the midst of a “patient panic” ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve statement, when many investors expect a change in the Fed’s language that would send the clearest signal yet that a rate hike is coming soon. The S&P 500 has fallen 2.6 per cent since February’s stronger-than-expected jobs report a [...]
Antibiotics not finger-licking good for KFC as McDonald’s and Costco vow to end sale of drug-raised chickens March 12, 2015 KFC is likely to come under pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald’s said it would no longer sell chicken raised with human antibiotics. McDonald’s announced last week it will phase out chicken raised with antibiotics for human health over two years to allay concern that use [...]
Got $63m to spare? The most expensive New York City townhouse ever March 12, 2015 Feeling flush? Got $63m to spare? Then you could be the proud owner of the most expensive townhouse ever to go on sale in Manhattan. You do get rather a lot for your money – the six storey, 32ft-wide limestone mansion spans 17,850 sqft, including 10 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and 2,300sqft of outside space. [...]
Santander and Deutsche fail US Fed stress tests March 11, 2015 TWO EUROPEAN banks have failed the Federal Reserve’s stress tests. The US central bank objected to the capital plans of the US operations of both Deutsche Bank and Santander. The Fed said its objections were made “on qualitative concerns” rather than quantitative. All the large US banks passed the tests, which were introduced in 2009. [...]
Backing the USA: Dollar climbs as investors buy into recovery March 11, 2015 Amid much talk of a US rate hike, Chris Papadopoullos asks if it will happen as quickly as some think The Federal Reserve has a way with words. Last year, it prompted mass market confusion by saying it would wait for a “considerable time” before hiking interest rates. In December, it ditched the term and [...]
Wall St slides on fears of an early rate hike – New York Report March 11, 2015 US STOCKS ended lower for a second session yesterday as worries increased about the timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike and dollar strength further dampened the outlook for US corporate earnings. The move followed the S&P 500’s biggest one-day decline in two months in the previous session, which surpassed a sell-off of similar [...]
Extraordinary central bank policy means volatile times are coming for investors – Investment Comment March 10, 2015 What is the true value of the investments in your portfolio? The prices of traded financial assets in markets are constantly updated as they are bought and sold. This is usually a basic and constant function of markets. This process has been overwhelmed in recent years, however, by extraordinarily loose monetary policy, cheap credit, and [...]
Euro loses one per cent against the dollar as markets feel the impact of quantitative easing March 10, 2015 The euro has fallen further against the dollar today, after the European Central Bank (ECB) launched its much-anticipated quantitative easing programme. The single currency briefly fell below the $1.07 mark in late afternoon trading, or down more than one per cent, taking it to its lowest level since 2003. It wasn't helped by the [...]
Timing the first US rate hike: What traders need to know March 9, 2015 The Fed could well be about to end its policy of patience. The US economy’s ability to create astonishing numbers of jobs is showing little sign of changing. On Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that total US non-farm payroll employment rose by 295,000 in February, exceeding expectations of 240,000. The US [...]