Don’t rejoice too soon about US QE2 October 12, 2010 IT now looks as if the US will embark on another round of quantitative easing (QE), sooner rather than later. Last night’s minutes could hardly have been any clearer. While an important minority of Fed decision-makers remains opposed, or (sensibly) wants to wait for additional information, “many participants” think that unless growth accelerates, unemployment fall [...]
BARCAP VICE-CHAIR TO BACK CITY WOMEN IN PLURAL DIRECTOR ROLE October 12, 2010 BARCLAYS Capital vice-chairman Gay Huey Evans has long been a trailblazer for women in the Square Mile, but she’ll be even more influential in her advocacy for greater female participation at the top echelons of the City in her new role as a “plural” board director. Huey Evans left BarCap yesterday after a long and [...]
Fed vice chair warns of bubbles October 11, 2010 Low interest rates can contribute to financial bubbles even if they are not a primary culprit, Janet Yellen said in her first speech as vice chair of the US Federal Reserve. At a time of growing concern about the international repercussions of another possible round of monetary easing by the US central bank, Yellen’s comments [...]
A SECOND QE WILL COST THE FED DEAR October 11, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is a month away. Judging from the dollar, investors expect further stimulus from the US Federal Reserve. Equities began their current rally following the Fed Chairman’s speech at the end of August. Then, Ben Bernanke stated that the FOMC was ready to step [...]
Emerging markets’ illness small but persistent October 10, 2010 FAR BE it for me to ruin your Monday but I am starting to get a bad feeling about emerging markets. Let me put that in context. On a medical scale I would call it more of a slight itch than a life-threatening condition, but it is definitely persistent. EMERGING MARKETS GROWTH SLOWS HSBC knows a thing [...]
INSIDE THE MISCHIEVOUS MIND OF A FIXED INCOME BONDS ANALYST October 10, 2010 EVER wondered about the fantasies of a bonds analyst? Well, no, we can’t say we did either, until Evolution Securities’ Gary Jenkins decided to bare all in his column for Credit Matters. Fresh from his promotion to head of fixed income, Jenkins’ megalomaniacal ambitions know no limit: he imagines himself in a new role as [...]
Money flows for the mining sector October 10, 2010 AS the market waits for the Fed to make up its mind on further quantitative easing, money looks sure to keep pouring out of the dollar and into commodities. This boom, averaging 20 to 30 per cent since July, has significantly boosted the mining sector, which was doing pretty well already thanks to growing emerging [...]
HSBC hit by US watchdogs October 7, 2010 THE Federal Reserve said yesterday that it issued an order against HSBC North American Holdings requiring the bank to improve company-wide risk management, including practices to prevent money laundering. It said that within 30 days, the bank’s board of directors must submit a plan for strengthening oversight of its compliance risk-management programme. The plan must [...]
Investors hold off ahead of Fed report October 7, 2010 WEAK commodities and a firmer dollar pressured US stocks yesterday as investors shunned big bets before a jobs report that could determine the next move from the Fed. The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 19.07 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 10,948.58. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index eased 1.91 points, or 0.16 per cent, [...]
New claims for US jobless benefits hit a three-month low as economy picks up October 7, 2010 New US claims for jobless benefits hit a near three-month low last week, suggesting some let up in the labour market’s distress but likely not enough to keep the Federal Reserve from easing monetary policy further. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 11,000 to 445,000, the lowest since 10 July, the Labour Department said [...]