Fed chairman sparks sell-off July 21, 2010 US EQUITIES tanked and government bonds rallied yesterday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the country’s economy faced “unusually uncertain” prospects. All sectors of the S&P 500 shares index fell as Bernanke delivered a cloudy outlook a week after his staff slashed growth forecasts. The 56-year-old told the Senate Banking Committee: “Even as the [...]
Madoff trustee files fresh suit July 21, 2010 ATHE trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernard Madoff’s financial advisory firm has sued 43 new defendants affiliated with a hedge fund firm that fed money to the now-imprisoned swindler. The trustee is seeking more than $3.6bn (£2.4bn) of damages in the lawsuit. Walter Noel, a co-founder of Fairfield Greenwich Group, was among those added to [...]
Wall St falls after dour Bernanke view July 21, 2010 FEDERAL Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s dour assessment of America’s recovery hit US stocks yesterday, as the Fed chief’s comment on “unusually uncertain” economic prospects discouraged investors. Stocks sank after Bernanke acknowledged the labour market’s continued weakness while offering few specific options to stimulate lending and investment. “The market sold off because unfortunately there is no [...]
US shares buoyed by Goldman stock rise July 20, 2010 US stocks rose for a second consecutive day yesterday, led by gains in shares of Goldman Sachs and strength in beaten-down homebuilders and raw materials companies. Goldman Sachs Group rose 2.2 per cent as buyers materialised after an early selloff on news the investment bank’s quarterly earnings tumbled 82 per cent, steeper than forecast. “Most [...]
SCALE BACK EXPOSURE ON THE BOUNCE July 19, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT This is a big week for the markets with traders forced to consider the potential effects of a number of major events. Looking at the US, we get deeper into the second quarter earnings season with over 500 companies to report – up from less than 100 last week. The interpretation [...]
Buckle up for more of the FTSE rollercoaster July 18, 2010 MAYBE you don’t have to be schizophrenic, but it helps. In the last month the FTSE 100 has oscillated madly from optimism, to despair, back to optimism – before finishing Friday once again enveloped in gloom. In that time we’ve had nine consecutive days of gains that took us to 5,300, then a period of [...]
HISTORIC FINANCIAL REFORM BILL PASSED July 15, 2010 US LAWMAKERS last night passed a landmark financial reform bill allowing the broadest overhaul of rules governing America’s largest financial institutions since the 1930s. The Senate approved the bill by a 60 to 39 vote last night and will now send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law next week. The bill, which [...]
Obama’s reforms at a glance July 15, 2010 SYSTEMIC RISK A council of regulators chaired by the secretary of the Treasury would be created to monitor big-picture risks in the financial system. The Financial Stability Oversight Council could identify firms that threaten stability and subject them to tighter oversight by the Federal Reserve. The Fed and the council could break up firms that [...]
Some good bits – but lots of bad stuff July 15, 2010 SO there you are: President Obama has finally got his Wall Street reform bill, a gargantuan, 2,315-page piece of legislation over which politicians and lawyers will argue for years. As we explain on page 1 and below, there is a huge amount of detail in the final version, with rules governing everything from investment banks [...]
Fed reduces forecast for 2010 growth July 14, 2010 THE US economy’s recovery will be slower over the rest of the year than originally forecast, according to the Federal Reserve, which yesterday revised down its growth projections for the first time since the economic rebound began. Minutes of the Fed’s meeting, published yesterday, showed its central forecast is now for the economy to grow [...]