What you need to know before the US open February 19, 2014 A modest open is expected in the US today, as stock futures fell on investor caution. Another weather victim: housing starts for January came in lower than expected at 880,000 from 1.1m in December (revised up from 999,000). Analysts were expecting a figure of 950,000. And it looks like it extended another icy finger into [...]
Charts: Tech take-up is faster than ever February 19, 2014 In the UK, 6.7m people have never used the internet, according to the Office for National Statistics. But that said, not only is the number 700,000 fewer than a year earlier (2012), but the total number of users is now 44.3m – that’s 87 per cent of all adults. What’s more – and as you [...]
What you need to know before the open February 19, 2014 European bourses are set to open slightly lower this morning, with Bank of England minutes in focus, followed by Fed minutes later on. Today’s UK average earnings data is expected to stay unchanged at 0.9 per cent for the final quarter – still an improvement but a large gap when it comes to proximity to [...]
Fed sets tough new rules for foreign banks February 18, 2014 THE FEDERAL Reserve has voted through tough new rules for foreign banks which will require them to adhere to more stringent capital and liquidity standards. The rules, which already apply to US bank holding companies, will hit around 100 foreign banks with at least $50bn in assets. Between 15 and 20 of those 100 banks will [...]
Here’s how the emails you send at work could betray you February 18, 2014 Plenty of us take time umming and ahing over how to phrase something in an email. But it may not surprise you to know that changes you make consciously are by no means the whole story. A paper, led by professor Paul Taylor of Lancaster University, looked at how changes in language choice in emails [...]
UK banks brace for tough new US capital rules February 17, 2014 BRITISH banks will be forced to move capital from their UK headquarters over to their US arms, under plans to be voted on today by the Federal Reserve. The result is likely to be higher costs for British and European banks operating in the US, which could reduce the viability of some of their less [...]
What you need to know before the US open – 17/02 February 17, 2014 The dollar’s dropped to six-week lows today, in the wake of weaker-than-expected US data. The fall in January manufacturing output, out last Friday, has seen some investors re-assess their expectations for the speed at which the Fed will taper. It edged up against the yen after data showed the Japanese economy grew just 0.3 per [...]
Major rail firms fail to impress UK commuters February 17, 2014 FED-UP passengers have hit out at delays, fare rises and cramped carriages in a national poll that found most rail companies are keeping less than half of their customers happy. Around 16 per cent of passengers suffered delays on their last journey, rising to 26 per cent for commuters, while one in five people travelling [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: US economy in focus as the Fed reveals minutes February 16, 2014 WITH economic data being shovelled aside like snow and earnings season winding down, US stock investors could zero in this week on the Fed’s view of the economy and technical analysis charts as the S&P 500 nears its record high. The Fed writes the script for Wall Street. The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most [...]
The Scottish nationalists aren’t credible on keeping sterling February 14, 2014 THE gloves are finally off. The London political establishment’s message to Scotland is clear: stay in the UK, or lose the pound. The nationalists are in deep trouble on this question, but as ever the argument is more complex than both sides might imagine.Is the Scottish National Party (SNP) right that it could keep sterling, [...]