FTSE is lifted to a record high post-Budget – London Report March 19, 2015 BRITAIN’S benchmark share index touched record highs yesterday, with gold miners outperforming, after the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England both dampened prospects of interest rate rises in the near term. The FTSE 100 index rose as much as 0.5 per cent to a record high of 6,982.79 points, beating the earlier record of [...]
Wall St falls as stronger dollar weighs on fuel – New York Report March 19, 2015 US STOCKS fell yesterday as a stronger dollar weighed on oil and other commodity prices, sending energy and materials sectors lower. The greenback rose after a sharp decline on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve appeared to be more dovish than expected even as it opened the door for a Fed funds rate hike as soon as [...]
Is the ECB speaking too soon in saying that QE is already helping the Eurozone economy? March 19, 2015 Danae Kyriakopoulou, an economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes Central bankers in Frankfurt have been patting each other on the back as the euro has continued to slide. At first glance, why shouldn’t they? Their QE has sent the euro tumbling, making Eurozone exports more competitive and raising prospects for [...]
European markets rise as Fed loses patience March 19, 2015 European markets rose this morning, despite last night's indication from the US Federal Reserve that it could begin to raise interest rates over the coming months. In a statement following a meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee last night, Fed chief Janet Yellen dropped the word "patience" from the wording of her statement, indicating [...]
Fed loses patience and heads for first rate hike in nine years March 18, 2015 THE FEDERAL Reserve yesterday edged towards a much-anticipated first rate hike since 2006 by remov ing “patient” from its language. However, markets bet on a September, rather than a June, hike after it downgraded the expected pace of growth and inflation. Stock markets rallied after the Fed statement, while the US 10-year Treasury yield dipped [...]
Wall St rallies on Fed move – New York Report March 18, 2015 US STOCKS jumped yesterday after the Federal Reserve suggested a less aggressive timeline for raising interest rates even as it opened the door for the first hike in almost a decade. The Fed dropped its pledge to be “patient” in deciding when to begin raising rates, but it cut its interest rate projections over the [...]
Oil prices jump while dollar gets hammered after Fed statement March 18, 2015 Oil prices jumped as much as six per cent higher while the dollar experienced its biggest single-day decline in six years after the Federal Reserve's policy statement on interest rates. The benchmark Brent Crude closed at $55.91 a barrel, up $2.40 or 4.5 per cent when it had earlier fallen as low as $42.03 after [...]
Federal Reserve policy statement: Rate rise could come as soon as June as FOMC drops “patient” March 18, 2015 The Federal Reserve could raise historically low interest rates as soon as June after the central bank revealed it was moving away from a pledge to be “patient”. “An increase in the target range for the federal funds rate remains unlikely at the April,” said the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting statement, but leaving the [...]
FTSE 100 market report: Budget goodies lift oil majors March 18, 2015 Britain's blue-chip index was 0.1 per cent higher this lunchtime as investors digested the chancellor's budget. Chancellor George Osborne unveiled £1.3bn additional support for the struggling north sea oil and gas industry. He said the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts this will boost production by around 15 per cent. Crumbling oil prices have made a [...]
Dow and S&P fall ahead of Fed statement – New York Report March 17, 2015 THE DOW and S&P 500 fell yesterday as commodity-related shares declined and nervousness increased ahead of a Federal Reserve statement, while the Nasdaq ended higher. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 128.34 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 17,849.08, the S&P 500 lost 6.99 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 2,074.2 and the Nasdaq Composite [...]