Wall St The Week Ahead: US awaits wave of new statistics September 1, 2013 WALL Street is braced for a wave of economic reports this week, including the August jobs report, which might prove decisive in finding whether the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to dial back its bond purchases in mid-September. However, The US market is closed today for Labor Day. Anxiety about the Fed [...]
Of course markets have rejected “preposterous” forward guidance August 30, 2013 While forward guidance has become incredibly fashionable among central bankers, with the Bank of England and European Central Bank adopting the tool, many claim that it is bunkum. Economist Detlev Schlichter is one of those, and strongly disagrees with the notion that new Bank of England governor should be called one the "most talented central [...]
Goldman slashes US GDP forecast on weak income and spending data August 30, 2013 Goldman Sachs has cut its third quarter US GDP forecast from 1.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent after the release of weak data. US personal incomes grew by just 0.1 in July, economists had expected an increase of 0.2 per cent, matching last month's increase. Spending grew at the same 0.1 per cent rate, [...]
Stronger US growth revealed by revisions as Fed ponders taper August 29, 2013 NEW INFORMATION on the US economy paints a picture of much stronger growth in the second quarter, jumping from 1.7 per cent annualised to 2.5 per cent. The alteration announced yesterday may have consequences for the actions of the Federal Reserve, as the central bank decides when to trim the huge US programme of quantitative easing. [...]
London Report: Vodafone talks power rebound for FTSE shares August 29, 2013 BUMPER gains among telecom stocks powered a rebound in UK shares yesterday after Vodafone confirmed it was in talks with Verizon to sell out of its US joint venture. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.82 per cent, or 52.99 points at 6,483.05, bouncing back again after falls over the last two days. Vodafone jumped 8.2 [...]
US GDP revisions see massive boost to 2.5 per cent August 29, 2013 US second quarter GDP has been revised up from 1.7 per cent on an annualised basis to a massive 2.5 per cent. Economists had been forecasting revisions to 2.2 per cent. Positive momentum came from a smaller trade gap and more inventories. The good news is confusing equities investors, who don't want the economy to [...]
Syrian parliament invokes strange Shakespearean allegory in letter to UK MPs August 29, 2013 (Salanio and Salarino encounter Shylock) The Syrian parliament appears to have dropped a reference to Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" in a letter to UK MPs. In the second paragraph of a document obtained by Sky News, Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, speaker of the people's assembly of Syria, writes: We write to you as fathers and [...]
Before the Open – 29/08 August 29, 2013 Asian shares had a mixed performance last night as offshore markets rebounded from Syria concerns while mainland markets remained suppressed. The Hang Seng recovered slightly from multi-month lows, rising around 0.4 per cent to 21,606. However, the Shanghai Composite remained in the red, despite a good start on the back of a strong finish in [...]
London Report: Syria weighs on FTSE amid oil trade scramble August 28, 2013 THE UK’S top share index fell yesterday, pressured by the risks of possible Western military action against Syria, but with energy stocks supporting the market after an oil price spike. The FTSE 100 was down 10.91 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 6,430.06 points at the close as the United States and its allies appeared [...]
Letters to the editor – 28/08 – Better rail policy, Best of Twitter August 27, 2013 Better rail policy [Re: Labour threatens to redesign HS2 link, yesterday] In the nineteenth century, railways were built with private capital. But there is also a modern private sector solution to capacity problems on routes like the West Coast Main Line – to develop a new line for 75 miles per hour freight trains. This can [...]