Even neutral news from the Fed will boost the greenback June 23, 2009 FEDERAL RESERVE Chairman Ben Bernanke and the rest of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) have an unenviable job today as they discuss the next steps for US monetary policy against the backdrop of improving global conditions – the decision is due at 7.15pm this evening Since the committee last met on 28-29 April, the [...]
With Polish vixens and Japanese beef, it’s like the boom never ended June 22, 2009 NO 2020 WARWICK STREET, W1B 5NF, TEL: 020 7292 6102 FOODSERVICEATMOSPHEREPrice per head without drink: £35 AN economist I know is fond of saying that nothing epitomised the boom years like Wagyu and foie gras burgers. Well, he’ll be relieved to know, the boom years are back in one corner of town: No 20 at [...]
MARTIN ON THE MARKETS June 21, 2009 AFTER three months of virtually non-stop rallying, are the brakes finally on? Despite a US data-led push ahead on Friday, the FTSE 100 index still finished the week down nearly 100 points. Even Friday’s fight-back may be tested this morning following a fade in US stocks after London’s close. GFT is calling the FTSE to [...]
TROUGHING UK ECONOMY WILL BOOST POUND June 21, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM WE might still be knee deep in recession, but policy makers have started to talk about how they will mop up in the aftermath of their generous fiscal and monetary incentives. In essence, it is prudent that this discussion takes place now. Even when deflation was a real fear in many [...]
BoA Merill in bonuses row June 18, 2009 BANK of America Merrill Lynch (BoA Merrill) was facing a storm over its use of taxpayers’ funds yesterday despite denying reports that it paid out millions of dollars in retention bonuses without having paid back $45bn (£27.5bn) in state loans. The bank’s new vice chairman of investment banking, Fares Noujaim, along with one of its [...]
US stats signal recovery underway for jobs market June 18, 2009 MORE green shoots of recovery have sprouted in the US labour market, according to the latest data, while the slumping factory sector showed dramatic signs of improvement and a gauge of the overall economy also jumped. The number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose last week but the number of people [...]
Fighting talk as Geithner wants action June 18, 2009 US TREASURY Secretary Tim Geithner yesterday testified before lawmakers, as he fought for proposals from President Barack Obama which will lead to the biggest overhaul of the US system of financial regulation since the 1930s. Geithner yesterday urged Congress to act quickly on the administration’s reforms, saying past efforts had started too late after the [...]
Bernanke will testify to Congress on BoA merger June 18, 2009 FEDERAL Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to testify to a House committee on 25 June about Bank of America’s acquisition of Wall Street rival Merrill Lynch last year, a committee aide said yesterday. The hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is set to begin at two o’clock London time. On [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 17, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES FEDEX SWINGS TO FOURTH-QUARTER LOSSFedEx executives told investors they believed the worst of the economic downturn was behind them. The note of optimism came during an otherwise sobering review of the package-delivery company’s fiscal fourth quarter, during which its net loss widened from a year earlier on goodwill writedowns, and the company warned [...]
CRACKDOWN June 17, 2009 THE US financial system is headed for a groundbreaking period of reform, after President Obama unveiled his vision of a regulatory regime designed to avert new financial crises. Outlining a raft of measures he termed a “transformation on a scale not seen since the reforms that followed the Great Depression”, Obama blamed a “culture of [...]