Traders fear nervous consumers September 24, 2012 THE link between the willingness of a consumer in Indianapolis to go out and buy a new car and the volatility of an exchange-traded derivative may not be immediately obvious. But, in a world where central banks have long since abandoned traditional monetary policy, interest rates are at rock bottom, and the US Federal Reserve [...]
We will soon find out whether America’s recovery is real September 23, 2012 FEDERAL Reserve chief Ben Bernanke took aim at the housing market this month, saying it was one missing piston in the economic engine. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index tomorrow will be the economic equivalent of a peek under the US bonnet at the start of the third quarter, with some wondering if the hum of [...]
Bearish data suggests recovery in US will be an uphill struggle September 20, 2012 THE US economy is stuck a rut, with sluggish growth and only slow improvement in employment, a tranche of data releases showed yesterday. Manufacturing expanded slowly in September, holding steady at 51.5 on Markit’s purchasing managers’ index. This makes the third quarter, on average, the worst since 2009. Philly Fed data also pointed to a [...]
Volcker hits out at Fed-bashing September 20, 2012 ■ Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker believes it is a “troublesome time” for the US central bank as it becomes increasingly mired in political debates. In an interview with Reuters, Volcker said the Federal Reserve itself has not become politicised, but he warned that Fed-bashing from critics in Congress could diminish confidence in the [...]
Kocherlakota calls for rate cut September 20, 2012 ■ Promising to keep rates low until unemployment falls could help bring joblessness down, top federal reserve official Narayana Kocherlakota told business leaders yesterday. Fed officials expect unemployment to fall to somewhere between 5.2 per cent and six per cent in the long-run – that is the next five to six years. But Kocherlakota said [...]
What the other papers say this morning September 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Noble Foods hit by eggs surplus Noble Foods, Britain’s largest egg producer by volume, reported a 22 per cent slide in pre-tax profits last year, providing further evidence of the squeeze on the egg industry. BP in talks to sell off refinery BP has held talks to sell its Texas City refinery to [...]
FedEx lowers its 2013 profit view as stretched customers cut back September 18, 2012 FEDEX lowered its 2013 profit target yesterday, saying earnings could slide as much as six per cent for the year, as a weakening world economy prompts customers to shift toward lower-priced and slower shipping options. The world’s second-largest package delivery company said makers of electronics and mobile phones had begun to move more of their [...]
US stocks flat as bellwether cuts forecasts September 18, 2012 US stocks ended flat to slightly lower yesterday after bellwether FedEx cut its profit forecast and investors pulled back after last week’s rally on central bank stimulus. Falling oil prices weighed on the market for a second day, with the S&P 500 energy index, down 0.7 per cent, the day’s biggest decliner among the S&P’s [...]
Twenty-four carat case for gold September 18, 2012 AS WARREN Buffett famously said: “You can’t eat gold.” But US dollars are not particularly nutritious either and neither are pounds sterling. However, the amount of food you can buy with your gold is steadily increasing, and has been for the last decade; whereas what you can buy with a wallet full of fiat currency [...]
Central bankers finally deliver September 18, 2012 MUCH has happened since Lehman collapsed four years ago: three rounds of easing from the Fed, four from the Bank of England, five Eurozone bailouts, two waves of bond purchase programmes and two rounds of long-term refinancing operations from the European Central Bank (ECB). The result is that G7 policy rates are at or near [...]