Analyst says Fed looks unlikely to tighten policy pre-2016 August 2, 2013 After several good pieces of news for the US jobs market and strong manufacturing data this week, some have suggested that a tightening of policy by the Fed could be on the cards. Kit Juckes, Societe Generale, gives his view: Manufacturing PMI data brought a little relief in China, a bit of stability in the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 2 August 2013 August 1, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Google unveils iPhone challenger Google unveiled the Motorola Moto X smartphone yesterday, its latest attempt to leapfrog Apple’s iPhone – this time with a device packed full of sensors and processors that will allow the phone to anticipate its user’s intentions. The Moto X, which will cost $199 (£131.41), is the first smartphone [...]
Jupiter’s Bonham Carter says Fed uncertainty stalks markets August 1, 2013 JUPITER Fund Management boss Edward Bonham Carter yesterday said equity markets would continue to wobble as investors prepared for a pullback in American quantitative easing (QE). The FTSE 250 listed stock picker, which attracted £426m more from investors in the three months to June, said signals from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke about reducing [...]
London Report: Mid-cap index in historic jump beyond 15,000 August 1, 2013 BRITAIN’S equity markets rose yesterday, led by financials and mining stocks, with the mid-cap FTSE 250 index closing above the psychologically key 15,000 points mark for the first time in its two-decade history. Financials, the biggest sector among Britain’s mid and large-caps, rallied thanks to forecast-beating results at the UK’s largest retail bank Lloyds, up [...]
No sign of Fed tapering even as GDP jumps July 31, 2013 THE US Federal Reserve expects America’s economy to reach even faster growth than the 1.7 per cent GDP expansion recorded in the year to June – yet last night gave no indication that it is set to rein back its mass stimulus programme. The Fed’s latest policy statement said it will continue with its $85bn [...]
New York Report: Wall St edges higher after Fed statement July 31, 2013 THE S&P 500 finished a volatile session nearly flat yesterday after the Federal Reserve gave no hint that a reduction in the pace of its bond-buying program is imminent. After paring most of the day’s gains just before the close, the S&P 500 ended July up 5 per cent – its best monthly percentage increase [...]
Obama gives “full-throated defense” of Fed candidate Summers July 31, 2013 President Barack Obama has given a full defense of Lawrence Summers, according to House Democrats. Summers is tipped as a hot candidate to replace Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve when he departs. Representatives Gerry Connolly and Brad Sherman have said that Obama believed that Summers has been "unfairly criticised". While Obama is [...]
Before the open – 31/07 – Investor caution ahead of Fed policy meeting, Japanese real wages fall July 31, 2013 The Nikkei fell on a raft of poor data last night, including the first drop in manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) since late last year and wage growth remained below rising inflation. Nomura’s measure of manufacturing PMI fell from 52.3 to 50.7 in July (where above 50 indicates growth), while labour cash earnings rose just [...]
Bankers as trapeze artists, central planners and markets July 30, 2013 THERE are three ways we can organise banking. The first, which I don’t recommend, is to adopt the pre-2008 model; the second is the current approach, which seeks to micro-manage everything and which will also fail; and the third would be to allow genuine market discipline to be reinstated. Under the first approach, there [...]
London Report: FTSE shrugs off Barclays rights issue to tick up July 30, 2013 UPBEAT earnings from leading companies nudged Britain’s benchmark equity index higher yesterday, enabling the market to offset a slump in Barclays after the bank announced plans for a $9bn capital hike. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.2 per cent, or 10.70 points, at 6,570.95. Engineer GKN topped the leaderboard with a 6.5 per [...]