Law firm Baker McKenzie sees record income August 27, 2013 LEGAL giant Baker & McKenzie is set to report record global fees and a 10 per cent hike in profits per partner (PEP) when it announces full-year results today. The law firm, which has around 750 staff in its largest base in London, said global fee income rose five per cent to $2.42bn (£1.56bn) in [...]
US consumer confidence beats in August August 27, 2013 US consumer confidence has risen from 81 (revised up from 80.3) to 81.5 in August. Economists had forecast a flat reading at that unrevised figure of 80.3. The Richmond Fed manufacturing index was also strong in August, rising from -11 to 14. Amna Asaf, economist, Capital Economics: We suspect that the slide in gasoline prices may [...]
CNBC Comment: Emerging Asia is in a dangerous situation August 26, 2013 THE STORY of money being withdrawn from emerging markets is arguably overdone. But just as it chased a more thrilling adventure in a risk-free world of easy monetary policy, money is now seeking the comforts of home as markets price in tighter conditions. That spells a dangerous road for Asia’s shining hopes. Take Indonesia, often [...]
Fed’s Bullard says no to rate hikes while inflation is below 1.5 per cent August 23, 2013 The Federal Reserve's James Bullard has said that "we don't have to be in any hurry" to make changes to policy and that he'd prefer to be "cautious" and for the central bank to "take our time". Bullard has said that a 1.5 per cent inflation floor before a rate increase would should the the [...]
Bond buying programme drives $100bn out of Europe into the US August 22, 2013 EUROPE has lost $100bn (£64bn) of stock market fund flows since the end of the financial crisis due to the effects of quantitative easing, figures out yesterday reveal. The $100bn cumulative outflow, the same magnitude as the cash ploughed into the continent following the US Marshall Plan in 1945, is in contrast to the wall [...]
London Report: Chinese factory data pushes up miners on FTSE August 22, 2013 BRITAIN’S main equity index rose yesterday to recover from stinging losses in the previous session, as robust Chinese economic data lifted major mining stocks to allay worries about tighter US monetary policy. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up by 0.9 per cent, or 56.03 points, at 6,446.87 points, marking its biggest one-day rise in [...]
Before the open – 22/08 August 22, 2013 After the Federal Reserve's minutes failed to provide markets with any clarity, markets are expected to open lower this morning in Europe. That Fed update didn't give investors any clues, with Todd Schoenberger of LandColt Capital saying that "traders are angry and confused by today's release". Strong Chinese manufacturing is unlikely to provide enough of [...]
Fed fails to give markets clarity August 21, 2013 MARKETS were in turmoil last night as the Federal Reserve’s latest minutes failed to give investors any clues to determine when the massive US bond buying programme will be trimmed. Some of the board were guarded on the prospect of tapering, calling for patience and additional data, but other members “suggested that it might soon [...]
London Report: FTSE falls for third day in a row on taper fears August 21, 2013 THE UK benchmark equity index fell for the third straight day yesterday to six-week lows, with investors anxious over the prospect of a forthcoming scaling back of US monetary stimulus. The market also took a technical hit as a clutch of companies including bank HSBC and Intercontinental Hotels began trading without entitlement to their latest [...]
New York Report: Wall Street falls again as Fed fails to give markets guidance August 21, 2013 US stocks ended lower in choppy trading yesterday after minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s July meeting offered few clues on the timing of a reduction in its bond-buying program. Minutes from the meeting showed almost all the policymakers on the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee agreed that a change to the stimulus was [...]