Dollar boosted by Fed QE3 stimulus restraint March 14, 2012 THE Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) followed expectations by holding rates yesterday, and at the same time dispelled the possibility of an immediate third round of quantitative easing (QE3). Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke pointed to “an improving economic situation”, though checked any untoward optimism by acknowledging that economic growth would be moderate. The central [...]
Wall Street finally out of the woods March 14, 2012 WALL STREET’S financial crisis is almost over – or so the Federal Reserve would like us to believe. It rushed out the results of its stress tests of the 19 biggest US banks last night: just four failed – in all cases relatively narrowly – a test which gauged their ability to withstand a financial shock [...]
FTSE lifts as defensive gains offset miner and bank losses March 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue-chip index ended with a small gain yesterday, as profit-taking on mining companies and banks was offset by gains among defensive shares. The FTSE 100 index ended up 5.26 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,892.75, having traded 90 per cent of its 90-day volume average. The index only moved into positive territory late [...]
US stocks up ahead of Fed’s statement March 12, 2012 DEFENSIVE names rallied in an otherwise flat day for Wall Street yesterday as investors paused after recent gains and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement. Investors will eye today’s statement from the US central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee to see whether the Fed will cool down expectations of more easing of [...]
US GROWTH MEANS THE DOLLAR-YEN BREAKOUT SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY March 12, 2012 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT IS THE North American region the last bastion of global growth? After last Friday’s strong US non-farm payrolls (NFP) and this weekend’s disappointing Chinese trade data, it certainly appears to be the case. In February, the US was able to record its third consecutive month of more than 200K new [...]
Doing game right – a stone’s throw from Cape Town March 11, 2012 After hours of anticipation, I finally caught sight of it – right in front of our jeep. Romantically backlit by the pinkening sky, a tall G&T with glinting ice cubes and a slice of lemon. Sundowners on safari. Best idea ever. We’d arrived in Cape Town five days ago for a little city before our [...]
Interest rates at record low for three years as Bank of England holds policy March 8, 2012 THE BANK of England held interest rates again yesterday, extending the period at which they have been at a record low to three full years. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also decided to leave its asset purchase programme unaltered, as the £50bn in quantitative easing (QE) announced last month continues to be implemented. QE began [...]
US Federal Reserve is considering new methods of quantitative easing March 7, 2012 US FEDERAL Reserve officials are considering a new approach to bond buying that aims to avoid fuelling inflation. The Fed is considering new ways to buy bonds in order to boost growth. One possibility is that it could borrow back the money it used to buy those bonds for short periods of time at low [...]
Miners, banks and positive US jobs data lift blue chip index March 7, 2012 R ECENTLY beaten down mining stocks and banks rallied yesterday to help haul Britain’s leading shares index higher, as above-forecast US private payrolls data provided a positive signal ahead of Friday’s key US February jobs report. The ADP National Employment Report said the US private sector added 216,000 jobs last month, topping economists’ expectations for [...]
US stocks reverse three day decline March 7, 2012 U S stocks broke a three-day losing streak yesterday, recovering some recent losses after a report showed the US private sector added more jobs than expected last month. After suffering their worst decline in three months on Tuesday, stocks received an early lift after payroll processor ADP said US private employers picked up the pace [...]