How strong does a central bank staffer have to be? April 1, 2014 Ever considered a career in the arena of monetary policy? Those wanting to walk the halls of Threadneedle Street, particularly those tasked with working in the Bank's vaults, may be stronger than you'd expect. This afternoon, a tweet from the Bank of England's official account warned a potential visitor to the newly reopened central bank [...]
What you need to know before the US open April 1, 2014 Stocks across the globe have been given a boost after positive remarks by Janet Yellen yesterday on the Fed’s attitude towards a rate hike – soothing worries one would come earlier than expected. Futures point towards a positive open, as markets continue the moderate gains seen in the first quarter. Investors will also have the [...]
Yellen pledges easy money March 31, 2014 US MARKETS jumped yesterday after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said the Fed will keep providing “extraordinary support for the recovery for some time to come”, pulling back from her previous remarks on hiking rates. Yellen’s dovish comments implied the Fed will keep supporting the economy for some time, as she admitted that there is still [...]
New York Report: First quarter gains for S&P and Nasdaq March 31, 2014 US STOCKS rose yesterday, with the S&P 500 ending both March and the first quarter of 2014 with moderate gains, after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen relieved concerns about a rate hike coming earlier than expected. This was the fifth straight quarterly rise for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, though it was the [...]
Markets jump on Yellen’s jobs speech March 31, 2014 Chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, has been speaking in Chicago on the health of the US economy and what the Fed's doing to promote a stronger jobs market. For many Americans, she said, “the recovery still feels like a recession” and “it also looks that way in some economic statistics”. The US economy [...]
The most important economic event this year starts tomorrow March 31, 2014 Japan’s sales tax rises from five per cent today to eight per cent tomorrow, the first increase in 17 years, and an experiment that the rest of the world should be paying attention to. The tax is a self-imposed test of Abenomics, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s primarily monetary-policy driven stimulus effort. Despite a spate of [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 31, 2014 US futures have risen ahead of Janet Yellen’s speech later today. Over here in Europe, stocks have suffered some losses after weaker-than-expected Eurozone inflation data. The headline figure dropped to a 2009-low of 0.5 per cent, piling pressure on the ECB to invoke policy tools to help the region. When it comes to the Ukraine-Russia [...]
What you need to know before the open March 31, 2014 European markets are expected to open higher this morning in wake of last week's gains. Investors hope that the European Central Bank will take a more dovish approach to monetary policy and China will take steps to counter economic slowdown. German retail sales rose by a better than expected 1.3 per cent in February. Corporate [...]
Nikkei climbs as hopes of Chinese stimulus grow March 31, 2014 Chinese stimulus hopes are pushing Asian equities higher today, with the Nikkei gaining one per cent to a two-and-a-half week high and a softer yen encouraging exporters. China’s yuan, meanwhile, has fallen to a one-week low. On Friday, premier Li Keqiang moved to alleviate concerns over China’s slowdown by reassuring that the government has the [...]
This week’s 5 must-see charts March 28, 2014 The next UK debt crisis, an uncertain future for the services sector, copper’s decline, and the euro’s enduring strength. We bring you some of our favourite analysts’ picks of the most important graphs this week. Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg Does this look familiar? The Office for Budget Responsibility expects a major rise in [...]