Oil prices: Brent crude falls below $60 a barrel December 16, 2014 Until recently the joke that was doing the rounds was that the rouble, the price of oil and President Putin would all reach 63 next year. Now just one of those is left waiting – and he's not likely to be in a celebratory mood. Oil prices have fallen to the lowest level in more [...]
Russia hikes interest rates to 17pc as rouble crashes December 15, 2014 Russian interest rates shot up late last night to 17 per cent as its central bank made a drastic attempt to prevent further collapse in the value of the rouble and stem rising inflation. The decision comes less than a week after the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) hiked rates to 10.5 per cent from 9.5 [...]
Why plunging oil has derailed the Santa Claus Rally – DailyFX Tips & Picks December 15, 2014 WHILE children look forward to Christmas Day, many grown-ups are more excited by the Santa Claus Rally. This usually entails a nice boost to stock markets at the end of the year, generating a good return. But the FTSE 100 is down this month – someone has clearly been naughty. And the culprit is said [...]
Russia hikes interest rates to 17 per cent after rouble goes into freefall December 15, 2014 The Central Bank of Russia has hiked its key interest rate to 17 per cent from 10.5 per cent effective Tuesday, after the rouble's worst one-day drop in 16 years. The rouble tumbled 10 per cent today amid concerns over the impact of falling oil prices on Russia's heavily oil-dependent economy. The central bank said [...]
The FTSE 100 slumps to a new yearly low amid crumbling oil prices December 15, 2014 Britain's FTSE 100 closed down again today taking the index to its lowest level this year, as crumbling oil prices and fresh concerns about Russia's economy scared investors. The FTSE 100 shed another 1.9 per cent to close down 117.9 points at 6,182.7 which was its lowest closing level since mid-2013. It fell 6.6 per [...]
Opec ready for oil price fall to $40 a barrel: UAE December 14, 2014 Oil prices could fall as low as $40 a barrel and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will still refuse to cut production, according to United Arab Emirates’ energy minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei. Speaking at the Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) in Dubai, Al-Mazrouei told Bloomberg: “We are not going to change our minds [...]
Never down and out: Thor Bjorgolfsson is the Rocky of the business world December 14, 2014 After losing a billion dollar empire and rebuilding it again, Thor Bjorgolfsson shares some of the lessons he learnt. “All of my greatest opportunities have come in the middle of a crisis,” says Icelandic billionaire Thor Bjorgolfsson. “Only the brave and bold go into chaos. International corporations can’t take such risk – I go in [...]
City Matters: India is a sleeping economic giant – the City stands to gain from its rise December 14, 2014 IN RECENT years, the UK has traded more with Ireland than all of the Bric nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) put together. That fact has been rolled out regularly by our politicians over the past few years. And it also explains why trade delegations led by the Prime Minister and other ministers to emerging [...]
Coe’s woe at doping claims December 14, 2014 PROSPECTIVE world athletics chief Lord Coe has warned that allegations of systematic doping in Russia and a subsequent cover-up have the potential to be as damaging as the sport’s very worst scandals. Coe compared the magnitude of the claims, aired in a German television programme, to the episodes that brought down sprinters Ben Johnson in [...]
Russia and Norway take different paths on interest rates as oil price tanks December 11, 2014 The central Bank of Russia yesterday raised interest rates to 10.5 per cent from 9.5 per cent in a bid to strengthen the plummeting rouble and reduce inflation which currently stands at 9.4 per cent. The move contrasts with Norway, which cut rates to 1.25 per cent yesterday from 1.5 per cent. Both nations have [...]