Wall St dips despite the Fed’s bullishness November 24, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday on lacklustre economic data in a session marked by low volume and choppy trading, but losses eased after the Federal Reserve raised its expectations for growth in 2010. Stocks fell early in the session as revised government data on gross domestic product showed the US economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace [...]
Efforts to stem FX inflows are futile November 24, 2009 WHEN Brazil introduced a tax on capital inflows last month, it was a clear sign that governments are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact on their economies and on their currencies of a weakening dollar, and of foreign investors piling into their stock markets and bonds in search of higher yields. Other emerging nations have [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 23, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index ended sharply higher yesterday, snapping a four-day losing streak, with commodity and banking stocks rallying after comments by a senior US Federal Reserve official. The FTSE 100 index finished up 104.09 points, or 2 per cent, at 5,355.50 and recorded its biggest one-day percentage rise in more than six weeks. The [...]
Why AIG’s bailout was one giant mess November 22, 2009 TO say that Goldman Sachs is in the doghouse is something of an understatement. The firm has become the bank everybody loves to hate. The argument is familiar: Goldman benefited from the bailouts; it is about to pay huge bonuses again; no wonder the New York Times called this weekend on it to donate billions to [...]
FED IS STILL FUELLING THE RISK TRADE November 18, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM CAUTIOUS expectations for growth in the world’s major economies haave seen market commentators predict that risk appetite will be pared back over the coming months. But despite all this talk, the risk trade suffered only a brief decline following the shock rise in the US unemployment rate to 10.2 per cent [...]
IrishLife tumbles after third quarter stats reveal rising bad loan provisions November 17, 2009 BANCASSURER Irish Life & Permanent saw its shares fall by as much as 15 per cent in morning trading yesterday as it revealed rising impairments in its loan book. In a statement described by analysts as “very weak”, the company said total bad debt provisions for the three years to 2011 had risen from €700m [...]
THE NEW YORK REPORT November 16, 2009 US stocks rose broadly yesterday, sending indexes to fresh 13-month closing highs, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reinforced expectations that interest rates would stay low to spur growth. Bernanke repeated that the Fed was likely to keep interest rates exceptionally low for “an extended period,” a pledge that weighed on the dollar and drove [...]
Bernanke: we will aim for a strong dollar November 16, 2009 BEN BERNANKE, chairman of the Federal Reserve, took the unusual step of commenting on the direction of the US dollar last night, saying he was “attentive” to the currency’s ongoing slide. The Fed chairman does not normally comment on the direction of the US dollar, so Bernanke’s comments were scrutinised across global markets. The US [...]
Obama officials defend the Fed November 15, 2009 Obama’s administration yesterday argued against plans proposed by Chris Dodd, the Senate banking committee chairman, to merge banking regulators into one, under which the Federal Reserve would lose some of its power. Ahead of today’s hearings on the bill, Austan Goolsbee, a White House economic adviser, defended the Fed’s ability to do its job.
Conflicting signals halt winning streak November 10, 2009 US stocks closed mostly lower yesterday as differing views on whether the market can build on recent gains stalled the S&P 500’s six-day winning streak. The Dow industrials eked out a small gain to set a fresh 13-month high as cautious statements on the economic outlook from several Fed officials underscored the belief that easy [...]