Calm for now: US regional banks make small gains ahead of Fed rate decision May 3, 2023 Regional banks in the US notched small gains on Wednesday as the sector seemed to calm down following yesterday’s sell-off. Pacwest was trading 3.3 per cent higher while Western Alliance was up 2.1 per cent. The KBW Regional Bank index was up 1.2 per cent. Larger lenders were more mixed. JP Morgan was down 1.1 [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index claws back losses ahead of US Federal Reserve interest rate decision May 3, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 regained ground this today after nursing sharp losses yesterday driven by fears over the global banking system flaring up again. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.2 per cent to 7,788.38 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed 0.27 per [...]
BNP Paribas first-quarter revenue beats expectations as trading outperforms May 3, 2023 BNP Paribas’s first-quarter sales beat market expectations as trading business at the eurozone’s biggest bank outperformed most of its peers, while it started to reap the benefits from rising interest rates. BNP’s quarterly profit more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier, bolstered by gains from its much-anticipated sale of its U.S. [...]
Bitcoin price pushes upwards as investors wait for latest rate hike decision May 3, 2023 Bitcoin is trading comfortably above $28k and closer to $29k this morning, while Ethereum (ETH) is trading in the green for $1,866.
Lloyds profits swell by nearly 50 per cent as bank boosted by interest rate rises but guidance remains unchanged May 3, 2023 Lloyds first quarter profits rose 46 per cent as the bank became the latest UK lender to see its bottom line boosted by a hike in interest rates. The lender’s pre-tax profits came in at £2.3bn compared to £1.5bn the same quarter last year. Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group said: “The group [...]
A green price to pay: Why offshore wind’s rising costs pose a challenge for renewables May 3, 2023 Offshore wind generation is now facing real cost challenges for building new turbines raising the prospect of higher prices.
Stephen King interview: Inflation is ‘profoundly undemocratic’ and must be stopped May 3, 2023 What kind of world do we live in today? From an economists’ view, one that’s a lot different from just a handful of years ago. War in Europe. Strained global trade. Government debt stocks at multi decade highs (certainly in the UK). All fixtures of our present day lives. But there’s two things that have [...]
Oil markets tumble as hawkish Fed and sluggish Chinese growth drive down prices May 2, 2023 Oil prices dropped heavily today, amid growing expectations of interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.
Pearson shares slump after ChatGPT hits rival US online education firm May 2, 2023 Shares in London-listed educational publisher Pearson fell today after US rival Chegg warned that ChatGPT was having a negative impact on its business. The California-based online learning platform said today that ChatGPT was starting to have a negative impact on the number of students using the platform, as it reported a seven per cent slump [...]
Tide turns against Ping An as HSBC’s pay outs convince investors, analysts, and boost the share price May 2, 2023 The tide seemed to turn against Ping An today as HSBC recorded bumper profits and a major shareholder rejected the Chinese insurer’s spin-off campaign.