Investors wait for Fed moves – New York Report March 29, 2015 WALL STREET investors may find little reason to make big moves this week as they await monthly US jobs data and any news that could change expectations for the first rate hike in almost a decade. The Labor Department report is due on Friday, when the market will be closed for Good Friday, leaving investors [...]
The Shanghai’s the limit in this city that never stops March 29, 2015 Londoners are obsessed with christening skyscrapers. From the Walkie Talkie to the Cheesegrater, new buildings are barely granted planning permission before they are slapped with a nickname, reducing years of meticulous planning to a childish slogan. If the residents of Shanghai had a similar habit, they’d have little time to do anything else. The skyline [...]
Rate hike might be delayed until 2016, warns leading Fed official March 25, 2015 THE US Federal Reserve should not hike interest rates until 2016, one of its officials said yesterday. “I think economic conditions are likely to evolve in such a way that it will be appropriate to hold off on raising short-term rates until 2016,” Charles Evans – a member of the committee that decides policy – [...]
Asset bubbles may be forming but rapid rate hikes would only jeopardise growth March 24, 2015 Everybody seems to agree on the need for full employment and price stability. But these objectives leave central bankers with a perennial dilemma when managing an economy: act too soon in normalising monetary policy and they’ll prevent the attainment of full employment; act too late and they’ll damage price stability. It is less a matter [...]
FTSE at a record high as miners lifted by metals – London Report March 23, 2015 BRITAIN’S blue-chip share index set a record high yesterday as mining stocks rallied with firmer metals prices, outpacing weakness in shares such as Weir Group. The UK mining index gained 2.2 per cent as copper hit a two-month high, driven by a weaker dollar on expectations the US Federal Reserve will stay accommodative for the [...]
The FTSE 100: How long will the rally go on? March 23, 2015 Don’t confuse price with value in the equity markets. While many of its European counterparts closed down yesterday, the FTSE 100 rose for the sixth consecutive day, with the UK’s blue-chip index closing up 0.22 per cent and reaching 7,037.67. Shirking fears over Greece, which sent France’s Cac 40 falling 0.65 per cent and the [...]
Beware a taper tantrum after ECB QE – CNBC Comment March 23, 2015 Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things in life, especially when it is to a good friend who has brought you joy, peace of mind and, yes, profits. For investors over recent years, that friend has been easy monetary policy. St Louis Fed president James Bullard told CNBC yesterday that there was the potential [...]
Is the Fed’s James Bullard right to warn that Greece would flounder if it left the Eurozone? March 23, 2015 Christian Schulz is senior economist at Berenberg, says Yes Grexit would be a devastating shock, with the painful consequences including a major devaluation of the drachma, default, capital flight and a sharp recession. Greece would probably be shut out of financial markets for years. For ordinary Greeks, it would mean a big reduction in living [...]
Gordon’s Wine Bar owner Simon Gordon seeks Facewatch app funding March 23, 2015 The man behind London’s famous watering hole Gordon’s Wine Bar has given himself a new task as he seeks funding for his latest project Facewatch – a crime reporting app. Wine bar proprietor Simon Gordon, who runs the 125-year-old institution, originally hit upon the idea for the app – which enables the public and the [...]
Investors eye indicators for clues on rates – The week ahead on Wall St March 23, 2015 INVESTORS enjoying near-record levels for major stock indexes will scrutinise housing data and other economic indicators this week for hints about the timing of US interest rate hikes to see if the rally will continue. Concern about the Federal Reserve’s path of rate increases and the soaring US dollar have resulted in big swings in [...]