Before the open: FTSE expected up but dollar weak following Summers exiting Fed race September 16, 2013 The US dollar dropped sharply overnight, following Larry Summers quitting the race to replace Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman. European markets are expected to open up this morning, with the euro pushed up by a weak dollar. The German Dax is expected to hit a new record when it opens. ECB president Mario Draghi will [...]
Larry Summers quits Fed race September 15, 2013 LARRY Summers, the leading US economist, last night spectacularly withdrew from the race to become the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. The move sent shockwaves through the financial markets, pushing down the dollar. Summers had been widely seen as President Barack Obama’s likely favourite, but had recently come under intense criticism, with over 400 [...]
Lehman crisis should have changed the world more than it did September 15, 2013 FIVE years ago, like every Sunday night, I was in the City A.M. newsroom, supervising the production of the newspaper. Traditionally, Sundays are a quieter day for business news: while there’s always lots to write about, there are few on-diary corporate announcements. Not that Sunday. It was the most manic day any business journalist can [...]
Central bankers urge caution as rates start rising September 15, 2013 THE RETURN to normal interest rates will be fraught with uncertainty, and investors should be careful and cautious to make sure they can withstand any surprises, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) warned yesterday. Markets have been surprised by the impending tapering in the US, which will see the Federal Reserve slow the pace of [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: US markets are ready for cut in fiscal stimulus September 15, 2013 MONTHS of anticipation will come to an end this week when the Federal Reserve finally says whether it will start to rein in its massive stimulus of the economy, which has flooded financial markets with some $2.75 trillion over the past five years, supercharging returns on everything from stocks to junk bonds. But for all [...]
US consumer sentiment index misses mark September 13, 2013 A consumer sentiment index flash estimate has come in at 76.8, following the August figure of 82.1. Traders had predicted a move to 82.0. The index gives a picture of consumers' willingness to spend. Michigan consumer sentiment, falls; business inventories increase more than expected. Cause for concern for 2013Q4, but a + for Fed [...]
New York Report: US market falls back following seven day gain September 12, 2013 US STOCKS slipped yesterday, ending seven straight days of gains by the S&P 500 index as a drop in precious metal prices dragged mining shares lower. Spot gold fell 2.6 per cent to $1,331 an ounce as tensions with Syria eased and on worries the Federal Reserve will begin to scale back its monetary stimulus [...]
Bernanke’s successor will have more than monetary policy to worry about September 12, 2013 US FEDERAL Reserve watchers have taken a break from trying to figure out when the Fed will cut off its bond-buying programme to speculate about who will succeed chairman Ben Bernanke when his second term finishes at the end of January 2014. We haven’t had the opportunity to pick a Fed chair since before the [...]
Syria tensions ease allaying fears of oil price spikes September 11, 2013 Ishaq Siddiqi, market strategist, ETX Capital on the likelihood of US intervention in Syria and possible market reaction: Syria tensions ease considerably overnight as US President Obama in his speech acknowledges drumming support in Congress for a strike at Syria was hard found and has opted for diplomacy with Russia to disarm the Middle Eastern [...]
Osborne’s austerity accused of slashing growth by Fed paper September 10, 2013 CRITICS have railed against an economic paper released by the San Francisco Federal Reserve yesterday, which claims George Osborne’s fiscal plans have made the UK economy three per cent smaller than it would have been otherwise. The authors use an experimental technique to suggest that the adverse effects of trying to reduce the UK’s deficit [...]