Rolling out the printing press again August 7, 2011 DESPITE the promised abolition of boom and bust thanks to central bank intervention, the US economy seems to be in a phase that looks very much like a bust. As such, there is a growing likelihood that Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will be firing up the printing presses to fund a third round of quantitative [...]
FTSE fightback foiled by bank weakness August 4, 2011 The banking sector put the brakes on potential gains on the FTSE 100 in early trading after poor results from Lloyds. The index was expected to be given new impetus today as hopes of a new package to breathe life into the US economy encouraged investors elsewhere. Former Federal Reserve vice chairman Donald Kohn said [...]
Deutsche Post ups forecast August 2, 2011 Deutsche Post nudged up its 2011 outlook as it cut costs and garnered more customers seeking supply chain services. As the economy improves, manufacturers of machine parts, cars and other goods ramp up production and pay Deutsche Post to transport parts and finished products. Europe’s biggest express delivery and mail company said on Tuesday it [...]
AMERICA MAY SAIL ON THE QE3 THIS FALL August 1, 2011 WE HAD a first look at UK and US second quarter GDP numbers last week. The US was a shocker, coming in at 1.3 per cent on expectations of 1.7 per cent. Worse than that, the first quarter of 2011 and the fourth quarter of last year were both revised down sharply. This means the [...]
Fed slaps RBS with cease and desist on US practices July 27, 2011 THE FEDERAL Reserve last night ordered the Royal Bank of Scotland to develop a plan for improving oversight of its US operations and complying with anti-money laundering requirements. RBS has 60 days to submit a written plan showing how it will fall in line with the Bank Secrecy Act and beef up its risk-management practices, [...]
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 [...]