Fed report shows US GDP growth slowing July 27, 2011 Economic growth slowed in much of the US in June and early July, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in a report that cast doubt on a pickup in activity in the second half of the year. The Fed’s Beige Book summary of economic conditions across the country said eight of the nation’s 12 Fed [...]
Wells Fargo to pay $85m fine July 20, 2011 Wells Fargo & Co, the largest mortgage lender in the US, has agreed to pay a $85m (£52.6m) civil penalty to the Federal Reserve Board and will compensate borrowers who were allegedly steered into more costly subprime loans with higher interest rates during the housing boom. The fine is the largest ever imposed by the [...]
Gold is through the roof and silver set to follow July 18, 2011 GOLD is stealing all the headlines, having broken $1,600. This is on the back of justifiable fears of a grim economic outlook, particularly in the highly indebted Eurozone countries and US. But silver is on the up too and with the gold/silver ratio (graph right) suggesting that the latter is lagging behind the former, silver [...]
THE PRECIOUS METALS SHINE IN POLICY FOG July 18, 2011 LAST week was a difficult one for equity investors, thanks to a lack of clarity from policymakers and central bankers. On Tuesday, the minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting stated that it may “be appropriate to provide additional monetary policy accommodation” if economic growth remained too slow to reduce unemployment. This led [...]
US inflation pressure high and industry weak July 15, 2011 US consumer prices fell slightly more than expected in June on weak fuel costs, but underlying inflation pressures remain high, new data shows. The US consumer price index fell 0.2 per cent, the Labor Department has said, the largest drop since June 2010, after rising 0.2 per cent in May. Economists had expected prices to [...]
Gold rises yet QE3 talk cools July 14, 2011 GOLD prices hit a fresh record high yesterday, in the wake of Moody’s warning that the US government may lose its top credit rating. “This is more about fear, about the dollar, the debt troubles in Europe, as well as the possible downgrade of the US credit rating by Moody’s,” said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. [...]
Wall St sags on new Bernanke talk July 14, 2011 US STOCKS fell yesterday as new comments from the Federal Reserve chairman dashed investors’ hopes for the chance of further stimulus and tech shares pushed the Nasdaq down one per cent. During a second day of testimony about the economy, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that the US central bank would be ready to inject [...]
Gold surges on QE3 hint and Euro crisis July 13, 2011 GOLD surged to a record near $1,590 an ounce yesterday as the possibility of more Federal Reserve stimulus coupled with Europe’s deepening debt crisis fuelled bullion’s longest winning streak in five years. Bullion’s gains accelerated after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank is ready to ease monetary policy further if the economy [...]
Commodities boost FTSE rise as China data elevates miners July 13, 2011 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 bounced yesterday, led by commodity stocks as economic data from China and soothing words from the US Federal Reserve raised hopes that stagnation in the global economic recovery might prove short-lived. Having fallen near five per cent over the previous three days, the mining sector rallied 1.8 per cent after China’s GDP [...]
Hints at QE3 cause mixed reactions July 13, 2011 US stocks stopped a three-day slide, but ended well off the highs yesterday as investors took the suggestion of further Federal Reserve stimulus as a mixed blessing. The three major US stock indexes rose more than one percent at their peaks after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the Fed would consider additional measures to support [...]