What you need to know before the open May 22, 2014 With no surprises from the Fed’s open market committee meeting minutes last night, European markets are expected higher, although investors will be focusing on European PMI numbers out today. Again, the worry is that the numbers will reinforce concerns over growth for the second quarter, with powerhouse economy Germany even beginning to show signs of [...]
Fed board may push for further guidance on unwinding of QE May 21, 2014 A NUMBER of Federal Reserve rate-setters want a further form of forward guidance for the US quantitative easing (QE) policy, giving investors extra information on when the purchased assets might be unwound. Minutes released yesterday from the Fed’s latest policy meeting said some decision-makers thought it “would be useful to provide additional information” on how [...]
Royal Mail plans to trial Sunday parcel delivery May 21, 2014 THE NEWLY-PRIVATISED Royal Mail is to start delivering parcels and opening its collection offices on Sundays to try and keep up with the demands of online shoppers and other postal companies. Royal Mail, which will post its first full-year results as a listed company today, plans to deliver parcels within the M25 seven days a [...]
New York Report: Fed gives Dow a boost to best day in a month May 21, 2014 US STOCKS rose yesterday, rebounding from the previous day’s broad selloff, after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed central bankers have discussed the eventual tightening of monetary policy but made no decisions on which tools to use. The Dow Jones rose one per cent, its biggest daily jump since mid-April. Goldman Sachs was [...]
What you need to know before the US open May 21, 2014 US markets are expected higher today, as investors await the most recent Fed minutes and a speech from chair Janet Yellen. European bourses have edged up ahead of the release, too. On the data front, mortgage applications increased 0.9 per cent last week, boosted predominantly by people waiting to refinance existing mortgages, rather than take [...]
What you need to know before the open May 21, 2014 A lower open for European markets this morning, with stocks expected to fall further from highs recently seen, following US and Asian counterparts. We've got central bank minutes out later today from both the Bank of England and Fed. Corporate news SSE’s reported a 9.6 per cent rise in profit before tax, to £1.55bn, despite [...]
Allardyce told to turn West Ham into Premier League entertainers May 20, 2014 WEST Ham’s board have ordered manager Sam Allardyce to change his style of football and deliver a top-half finish in next season’s Premier League table. Despite having all-but secured their top flight status by the end of March, the Hammers fans made plain their contempt for Allardyce as they suffered five defeats from their final [...]
What you need to know before the US open May 20, 2014 US stocks futures were flat today, following two days of advances for the S&P 500 and some fairly sombre equities releases. European shares have continued to feel the heat, as political angst ahead of the EU elections outweighed supportive noises from the ECB. Three policymakers are set to speak this afternoon, with economists hoping for [...]
What you need to know before the US open May 19, 2014 US stocks are expected to open lower today, following the distinctly choppy trading seen last week. Trading in government bonds continues to be solid, with nothing in the way of economic data to provide a guiding light for equity and fixed-income markets. The Fed’s April meeting minutes are due Wednesday, with some numbers from US [...]
What you need to know before the open May 19, 2014 A mixed open is expected for European markets this morning, following the choppy trading seen globally last week. All eyes will be on Deutsche Bank, following its announcement that it plans to raise €8bn in new capital, and AstraZeneca’s latest announcement that it’s rejected Pfizer’s latest takeover bid. Deutsche Bank’s move could impact what the [...]