Fed to begin stress tests January 9, 2011 The US Federal Reserve will this week begin carrying out new stress tests on 19 big American banks, to see if they are healthy enough to hike their dividends or buy back stock. The Fed will try to determine how another financial crisis or economic shock would hurt the 19 banks, which include Goldman Sachs, [...]
The all rounder | End of series special January 6, 2011 STATS OF THE SERIES Were it still running, Alastair Cook could fill up an entire show of Record Breakers with his achievements this winter. Here are the highlights: The Essex man has batted for an astonishing 2,171 minutes – that’s over 36 hours – the most by any Englishman and the longest occupation by a batsman from [...]
Volcker set to step down as US economic adviser January 5, 2011 FORMER Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker plans to leave his role as head of a panel of experts advising President Barack Obama on the economy, sources familiar with the decision said yesterday. The departure of Volcker, 83, as head of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board is among a series of changes under review at [...]
Hoenig says the Fed’s policy on rates is wrong January 5, 2011 THE Federal Reserve’s most vocal internal critic yesterday pushed back against the US central bank’s effort to control a sometimes-dissonant message, saying it is the duty of those who disagree to vote their conviction. Thomas Hoenig, president of the Kansas City Fed and a known inflation hawk, said the US economy is recovering remarkably well [...]
US debt prices fall on significant employment rise January 5, 2011 NEWS of the huge jump in US private employment in December has caused US government bond prices to drop substantially. Treasury prices sold off after ADP Employer Services said US private employers added 297,000 jobs, three times greater than forecast. Prices reduced further after the Fed bought only $1.5bn in bonds ranging from 17 to [...]
United go three points clear in race for title January 4, 2011 MANCHESTER UNITED 2 vs STOKE CITY 1 MANCHESTER UNITED manager Sir Alex Ferguson has told his players to ignore the criticism and focus on recapturing the Premier League title. Splendid goals from Javier Hernandez and Nani, which came either side of Dean Whitehead’s surprise equaliser, helped United open up a three point lead over Manchester [...]
FTSE bounces in New Year rally January 4, 2011 POSITIVE economic news from across the globe saw a sharp rise in London stocks, with the FTSE jumping above the psychologically-important 6,000 barrier. It finished the day up almost two per cent at 6,013.87 – its highest close since the start of June 2008. And US markets also reacted positively after being reassured by the [...]
We are barking up the wrong tree January 4, 2011 ANOTHER day, another set of strong global economic figures. UK manufacturing is expanding at its fastest rate since 1994, according to a key survey. US factory orders are accelerating and the Fed upped its growth outlook last night. The world is undergoing an emerging-markets led rebound; barring an implosion in the Eurozone or some other [...]
FTSE hits 31-month high on first close of 2011 January 4, 2011 LONDON saw a storming start to 2011 as the FTSE moved above the 6,000 level in the year’s first trading session to close at a 31-month high. The FTSE 100 moved up 1.9 per cent or 113.93 points to close at 6,013.87, its highest level since June 2008, buoyed by rises on US and European [...]
STOCKS MUST NOT RELY ON QE STIMULUS January 3, 2011 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT AS WE head into the new year, there are a number of significant financial and economic issues still unresolved. The most immediate problem is the European debt crisis. The potential insolvency of many banks and the high levels of public debt of many member states will continue to weigh on the [...]