What you need to know before the US open May 27, 2014 US stock futures rose this morning, as investors bet on expectations of rate cuts from the European Central Bank. World shares have risen to a near all-time high, too, as the central lender continues to point towards continuing global liquidity. Meanwhile, durable goods rose unexpectedly, by 0.8 per cent, suggesting a stronger rebound than expected. [...]
What you need to know before the open May 27, 2014 After a day out of the loop yesterday, the FTSE will be playing catch up with European markets, which saw a strong session yesterday. The European and Ukraine elections don’t appear to have affected equities too much. Several bourses saw encouraging gains, with the Dax posting a record high. Eyes are still on European Central [...]
What you need to know before the US open May 23, 2014 A subdued start’s expected for US markets, ahead of home sales numbers, and after European counterparts headed lower on the back of a slip in German business confidence. Stock futures inched higher this morning. All eyes will be on the new house sales numbers, due out at 3pm. The numbers are of heightened importance, given [...]
What you need to know before the US open May 22, 2014 Investors will be taking time to digest the latest job numbers today, with stocks futures flat ahead of the weaker-than-expected numbers. Initial jobless claims for last week rose more than expected – to 326,000 from 298,000 the week before. Analysts had been expecting 310,000 people to sign on for the first time. Focus will shift [...]
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 [...]