Why politics will dominate 2015: Losers and winners in this maddening new era December 21, 2014 When I started my political risk firm in 2006, about one-third of my opening pitch was simply arguing that political risk matters to often highly-sceptical executives, who wondered why they were wasting their time talking about Middle East politics rather than making money. Suffice it to say, I have now been forced to entirely re-write [...]
After a dismal year for the FTSE 100, could 2015 finally see it go past the 7,000 mark? December 21, 2014 Laith Khalaf is senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. As we enter 2015, the prospects for UK stock markets and the FTSE 100 in particular are finely balanced. There are a number of destabilising events at play. First, the general election in May is likely to give the markets a case of the jitters, [...]
Santa rally continues as European markets rise December 19, 2014 Is this a Christmas miracle, or merely a sign of a touch of festive merriment among investors? In looks like yesterday's "Santa Rally" will continue into today, as European equities markets rose in morning trading. The FTSE 100 was up 0.7 per cent in mid-morning trading, while the Dax rose 0.3 per cent and France's Cac 40 [...]
Markets cheer on Santa Rally December 18, 2014 Global stock markets shot up yesterday, eating into recent losses and giving investors hope of a traditional end-of-year Santa Rally. Shares across Europe soared to their biggest one-day gain in over three years, while across the pond the S&P also recorded its biggest two-day advance since November 2011. “We’re now well set up for the [...]
Santa rally in sight as FTSE jumps again – London Report December 18, 2014 THE FTSE 100 enjoyed one of its best days of 2014 yesterday, as the US Federal Reserve’s pledge for a “patient approach” to any interest rate increase lifted stock markets around the world. Financial services company Old Mutual and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) were among the best performers on the blue-chip [...]
Oracle and Yellen send S&P 500 up – New York Report December 18, 2014 THE S&P 500 closed out its biggest two-day advance since November 2011 yesterday, extending a Federal Reserve-fuelled rally from the previous session, while tech shares jumped after Oracle results. The Dow industrials recorded the best one-day percentage gain since December 2011. The S&P 500 posted its biggest daily percentage gain since January 2013 and is [...]
S&P 500 jumps the most in nearly two years December 18, 2014 The S&P 500 jumped the most in nearly two years posting gains of nearly two per cent, after the federal reserve's pledge for "patience" with future rate hikes sparked a global market rally. It surged 2.4 per cent to 2,061.23 which is it's best daily performance since January last year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average [...]
Is Vladimir Putin right that Russia’s economy will be back on its feet within two years? December 18, 2014 Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank, says Yes. Russia’s citizens have been here before – they know the drill. Everything looks terrible now, but the positive spin is that we could see a new start in 2015. A solution to the Ukraine crisis is a pre-condition, laying to rest the political and financial stand-off [...]
US jobless numbers beat expectations December 18, 2014 After average hourly earnings rose by 0.6 per cent in November and the economy added a roaring 321,000 jobs in the same month, today jobless figures continued the trend of positive data for US economy. The number of people claiming unemployment cheques fell around 6,000 last week, to hit 289,000 (a seasonally adjusted figure). This [...]
The UK, Alibaba and Nigel Farage are the biggest winners of 2014 December 18, 2014 As the year draws to a close it's a good time to reflect and look back on who will be cheerfully toasting 2014, after looking at those poor souls who've been dealt nothing but coal this year. This lot have plenty of reason for good cheer this holiday season – here's our pick of the [...]