Volcker Rule is nothing to celebrate and financial markets could suffer December 11, 2013 FORMER Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker made his way through the snowy streets of Washington, DC on 10 December to attend a celebratory lunch. To widespread applause, the new rule that bears Volcker’s name has now been finalised by the five regulatory agencies responsible for it. Yet after the thousand page rule has taken hold [...]
Markets aren’t buying what Carney’s selling, here’s why December 11, 2013 UK markets continue to believe that interest rates will rise in mid-2015 despite dovish noises from the Monetary policy Committee MPC, according to Capital Economics. MPC members have repeatedly tried to signal that if unemployment falls to seven per cent this will not automatically trigger a rise in interest rates. Overnight index swap (OIS) rates [...]
3 reasons why gold prices could bounce by the end of the year December 11, 2013 Gold prices could see a rally of about five per cent before the end of 2013, according to the chief executive of Compass Global Markets, Andrew Su. Sparking to CNBC, Su said that when a market becomes overly bearish, for him, it's a clear signal to buy – and this is the current case with [...]
UK banks get break from Volcker’s toughest plans December 10, 2013 BRITISH banks with US arms will be allowed to trade in UK government bonds on their own books, US authorities revealed yesterday, diluting earlier plans to ban the transactions. The incoming Volcker Rule is designed to stop banks trading on their own behalf on many financial markets, in a bid to stop what critics believe [...]
London Report: FTSE investors rattled by Fed tapering fears December 10, 2013 THE UK’S main share index fell in thin, choppy trade yesterday, led by a late selloff in travel operator Tui Travel and hit by concerns about a reduction of US monetary stimulus. The FTSE 100 turned lower in late trade as US stocks retreated from recent highs, showing investors’ reluctance to put money back into [...]
New York Report: Shares slip on market jitters over stimulus December 10, 2013 US STOCKS slipped yesterday, a day after a record close on the S&P 500, with traders looking ahead to next week’s Federal Reserve meeting in the absence of market-moving economic data. Healthcare stocks were among the most active after company news while utilities was the worst performer of the 10 industry groups on the S&P [...]
What you need to know before the open – 10/12 December 10, 2013 Despite another record close for the S&P500 yesterday, Europe is set to open lower this morning. Strength on the US markets yesterday was pretty surprising, given the Fed's James Bullard's comments on the possibility of an imminent taper. And over in China, mixed data overnight – industrial production was slightly below expectations, whereas retail sales [...]
Lenders facing prop trading ban in America December 9, 2013 THE VOLCKER Rule is set to be approved today by regulators, who are voting on the controversial plans to ban banks from trading with their own money. New regulations will also restrict banks’ investment in hedge funds, as part of a wider set of measures to reduce the risks banks take. The rule is named [...]
Governor Carney plays the ghost of Xmas Present December 9, 2013 OVER in New York yesterday, Bank of England governor Mark Carney was not just extolling the recovery of the British economy – he also took the opportunity to peddle some of the UK’s classical literature to the yanks. Speaking at the 106-year old Economic Club of New York, Carney (clearly overwhelmed by the historical clout of [...]
New York Report: S&P 500 hits a record high as rally continues December 9, 2013 US STOCKS edged higher yesterday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high last night, as traders awaited more clues from the Federal Reserve on whether the it would soon begin winding down its economic stimulus. Volume was light and a volatility index fell, signalling calm among traders. The Dow industrials traded within 43.11 [...]