Lending standards remain tight for US banks: survey May 3, 2010 MOST US banks kept lending standards unchanged while loan demand weakened in the first quarter, a US Federal Reserve survey showed yesterday, pointing to lingering weakness in credit markets. The Fed’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey found banks with assets above $20bn (£13.1bn) easing some lending policies. With regard to lending to households, large banks [...]
GOLDMAN, GOLD AND GOLDILOCKS May 3, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT OVER the past week, a number of big stories have jostled each other off the front pages. The Greek debt crisis went critical and the odds of European contagion shortened after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greece, Spain and Portugal. On Friday it was reported that Goldman Sachs may face [...]
Obama nominates trio to Federal Reserve board April 29, 2010 PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday nominated Janet Yellen as vice chairman of the US central bank. Yellen, the current president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, is renowned as a monetary policy “heavyweight”. He also nominated Sarah Raskin, Maryland’s financial regulation commissioner, and MIT economist Peter Diamond, who has written extensively about pensions and fiscal [...]
Fed upbeat but rates kept low April 28, 2010 THE FEDERAL Reserve issued a positive outlook for the US economy and employment forecasts yesterday despite keeping to its promise of holding interest rates around zero. Benchmark borrowing costs were kept in a zero to 0.25 per cent range as the US central bank said consumer and business spending was picking up. The Fed, which [...]
Five reasons the Tories will win a majority April 28, 2010 FOR almost a fortnight, the polls have been stubbornly pointing at a hung parliament after 6 May. But the most likely result is a small, workable Tory majority. Here are five reasons why: 1) Gillian Duffy. Bigot-gate will come to define this election campaign, which has been pretty safe and dull so far. Not necessarily [...]
Fed’s cheer on economy boosts Dow April 28, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday after the Federal Reserve pointed to signs of strength in the economy, comments that gave some relief to investors worried about possible debt defaults in Europe. The Fed’s comments on the economy and its statement that it would keep interest rates low for an extended period lifted bank shares. BKW Bank [...]
FED TO LEAVE RATES LOW THIS MONTH April 26, 2010 DAVID MORRISON CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT IT IS a relatively quiet week on the data front but the closely-watched preliminary US first-quarter GDP will be published on Friday. The forecast is for a rise of 3.4 per cent – a sharp moderation from last quarter’s 5.6 per cent. Meanwhile, today sees President Obama host the first [...]
Fed to keep interest rates on hold again April 25, 2010 A GROWING economy, a rising stock market, and rising employment suggests that normality is returning to the United States. Indeed, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, appeared notably upbeat about the economy earlier this month. The US economy is forecast to grow at an annualised 3.5 per cent in the first quarter – [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT WILL THE FED DO THIS WEEK? April 25, 2010 PAUL DALES | CAPITAL ECONOMICS “It is doubtful that the Fed will get any closer to dropping its pledge to keep rates exceptionally low for ‘an extended period’ at the two-day meeting that concludes this Wednesday. In fact, we continue to think that the Fed will keep rates on hold until at least 2012.” PHILIP [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF April 25, 2010 O’Sullivan’s in a deadlock SNOOKER: World No1 Ronnie O’Sullivan was locked at 8-8 with rival Mark Williams as their second round World Championship clash looked set to go to the wire at the Crucible. Ali Carter leads Joe Perry 10-6, while seven-time champion Stephen Hendry resumes at 4-4 with Mark Selby this morning. In the [...]