WallStreet falls on recovery fears December 7, 2009 The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended slightly lower yesterday and the Dow was flat, reversing earlier gains, after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked jitters about the economic recovery. Financial and technology shares were among the biggest drags on the market. The S&P lost 1.6 per cent while the KBW Bank Index shed [...]
Fed: US economy fragile December 7, 2009 THE US economy is improving but remains extremely fragile, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday. Speaking at the Economic Club of Washington, he also reiterated the Fed’s stance that the current environment of ultra-low interest rates would persist for “an extended period”. He noted that inflation could remain subdued but that the unemployment rate [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 7, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES APAX PAYS £975M IN MARKEN BUY-OUTApax Partners will today announce the £975m buy-out of Marken, the provider of distribution services to the pharmaceutical industry, generating big profits for its management and Intermediate Capital Group, which acquired the company in 2007. The acquisition of Marken is the biggest private equity deal in the UK [...]
US JOBS DATA STRENGTHENS HAWKS’ CASE December 7, 2009 DAVID MORRISONCFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT FRIDAY’S non-farm payroll report was, on the face of it, a really positive piece of news to take us up to the end of the year. Although 11,000 jobs were lost in November, this was the lowest number of losses for two years. On top of that, there were hefty [...]
ECONOMIC DIARY December 6, 2009 Monday 7 DecemberUSUnited States Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is set to speak at Economic Club of Washington lunch (5pm)October consumer credit (8pm)New York Fed president William Dudley speaks at Columbia UniversityJapanNovember bank lending (11.50pm)November money stock (11.50pm) Tuesday 8 DecemberUKBRC November retail sales monitor (12am)Manpower employment outlook for Q1 (12am)October industrial production (9.30am)October manufacturing [...]
JAPAN GETS SERIOUS ON YEN STRENGTH December 6, 2009 BRIAN DOLANCHIEF CURRENCY STRATEGIST, FOREX.COMAFTER months of confusing rhetoric over currency policy, the new Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) government led by Yukio Hatoyama appears to have finally got serious over combating yen strength. Japanese investor and corporate sentiment have been pummelled by daily gains in the yen, which have undercut exporters’ profits and caused [...]
Bernanke defends his post at the Fed December 3, 2009 FEDERAL RESERVE chairman Ben Bernanke staunchly defended his role as head of the US central bank in front of the Senate Banking Committee yesterday. He admitted the Fed could have done more to avoid the crisis but said that without the strong action taken, the consequences could have been markedly worse. The Senate is currently [...]
US continues to recover December 2, 2009 ECONOMIC conditions continued to improve across much of the US in late October and early November, but a weak labour market and deteriorating commercial real estate sector remain dark spots in the US recovery, the Federal Reserve said yesterday in its latest beige book. In the report, the Fed said conditions across many of its [...]
Your attitude to risk key to 2010 trading December 1, 2009 IT WAS no surprise that the Dubai debt scare saw investors running back to safe-havens such as the US dollar, Japanese yen and the Swiss franc. Risk appetite is one of the biggest drivers of the foreign exchange markets. The story of recent months in forex markets has been one of increasing investor confidence, which [...]
AIG makes $25bn from disposals December 1, 2009 Insurance giant American International Group yesterday cut its debt to the US taxpayer by $25bn (£15bn) by selling stakes in two of its subsidiaries to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. AIG said that under the debt-for-equity swap the NY Fed would receive preferred shares with a liquidation preference worth $16bn in American Life [...]