Friday 02:50 GMT Overview Asian markets not already shut for the holidays went into retreat, following a negative lead from Wall Street as investors took a breather ahead of the Christmas break. Hot topic Most major global stock markets were on track to finish December in the black, continuing the rally set off by Donald Trump’s presidential election victory in early November. In Asia, Japanese equities have […]
This is part of a series on the global rise of exchange traded funds You only need to look back to the tumultuous November in markets to see the growing significance of exchange traded funds that track bonds. While a bond from brewing behemoth Anheuser-Busch claimed the crown of being the most heavily traded corporate debt security last month, those volumes were dwarfed by bond ETFs. The average […]
The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy on hold and turned optimistic on the growth outlook as a slide in the yen sharply improves the outlook for Japan in 2017. Japan’s economy is “likely to turn to a moderate expansion” with rising domestic demand, large-scale fiscal stimulus and growing exports, the central bank said. Its comments highlight the dramatic turnround from September — when despairing analysts said the […]
Tuesday 02:20 GMT Overview Stock markets across Asia were largely on the back foot, with investors in the Japanese market treading particularly cautiously despite the yen weakening and the Bank of Japan keeping monetary policy meeting steady, as expected. Hot topic Global financial markets were beginning to quiet down in the lead-up to Christmas. Despite attacks in Germany and Turkey on Monday that added to geopolitical unease, […]
Monday 02:20 GMT Overview Stocks across Asia were weaker, retreating in line with Wall Street’s slight pullback on Friday from last week’s record highs, and as the US dollar softened. What to watch Investors are turning their attention to the Bank of Japan’s policy decision on Tuesday, in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate rise last week. While the dollar’s strength over recent weeks seems […]
BP cemented its 77-year relationship with Abu Dhabi by swapping about $2.2 billion of its own shares for a stake in one of the emirate’s largest onshore oil concessions. The U.K.’s second-biggest oil group will issue new ordinary shares to pay for 10 percent of the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations Ltd., giving the emirate a 2 percent holding in BP, the London-based company said […]
A series of big events shaped financial markets in 2016. Here is a selection of FT analyses and commentary, alongside charts, highlighting a tumultuous year. The new year rout January proved brutal for investors. After just 10 trading days, global equity markets had lost more than $4tn of value, with sentiment hammered by fears about China’s economic slowdown and a depreciating currency. In turn, bond markets were […]
Christmas is coming: an event as exciting for the toymakers hoping to fill stockings with this year’s hottest new playthings as it is for the children who will open them on December 25. Expectations of a bumper festive period have brought early Christmas presents for investors in companies such as Spin Master, Hasbro and Nintendo — manufacturers behind some of the biggest hits — that have all […]
An obscure clash involving a 28-year-old tattoo artist, the Osaka police and an ambiguous century-old medical law has spiralled into a landmark constitutional battle to save an entire industry from oblivion. The showdown in Japan follows the decision of the Osaka police to hit the local tattooing industry with the physicians’ law — a legal framework laid down in the 19th century that technically means only a […]
China has ceded its status as America’s largest creditor nation to Japan after spending a large portion of its foreign exchange reserves to defend the renminbi. Beijing’s ownership of US Treasuries fell by $41.3bn to $1.12tn in October, according to data from the US Treasury released on Thursday — the sixth straight month of decline. Japan’s holdings fell by $4.5bn to $1.13tn for the same period. Thomas […]
16 December 2016 MARC has affirmed its rating of AA-IS on Jimah East Power Sdn Bhd’s (JEP) outstanding RM8.98 billion Sukuk Murabahah with a stable outlook. JEP was established to develop, design, construct and operate a 2×1,000-megawatt (MW) ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant in Jimah, Negeri Sembilan under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). As at August 31, 2016, the power plant project […]
The US dollar marched higher on Thursday, reaching its strongest level against the euro for more than a decade, after the US Federal Reserve signalled a more aggressive outlook for interest rate policy. Europe’s single currency was among the hardest hit, falling through the $1.04 level to trade at its lowest level since early 2003. Driving the dollar’s strength is a growing divergence between benchmark interest rates […]
December 14, 2016 by: Robin Harding in Tokyo Optimism at Japanese companies is on the rise for the first time in 18 months after Donald Trump’s election as US president breathed new life into the country’s drive to escape deflation. The Bank of Japan’s closely watched tankan index for large manufacturers rose from +6 to +10 in December, the first increase since the second quarter of 2015, […]
Wednesday 02:20 GMT Overview Stock markets across Asia were mixed as anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision dulled the effect of another set of record highs for Wall Street. What to watch All eyes were on the end of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting later in the day, with the US central bank expected to raise interest rates 25 basis points. Roughly a year ago the […]
This is part of a series on the global rise of exchange traded funds Each day, the investing public hears news of the latest developments in exchange traded index funds (ETFs). But rare is the mention of traditional index funds, which I call Tifs, although the acronym has yet to gain acceptance. In 1976, I created the first Tif. It was named First Index Investment Trust (now […]
Monday 02.15 GMT Overview Markets around Asia were mostly higher, buoyed by a surge in oil prices and following on from another set of records for Wall Street on Friday. Hot topic Ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Wednesday, government bond yields are hovering at their highest levels in months. Of note, the yield (which moves inversely to price) on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury […]
Submitted by Mac Slavo via SHTFPlan.com, The entire Pacific Coast of the United States, Canada and Mexico has been contaminated with radioactive particles from Fukushima. And finally, it is being officially acknowledged. This is really happening… It is a stark reminder that the effects from Fukushima radiation continually spilling into the ocean have not been abated. The site continues to leak highly toxic radioactive material to this […]
This is part of a series on the global rise of exchange traded funds The morning after the US election Steven Bregman, a New York-based hedge fund manager, began to notice something strange going on in a corner of the stock market. His screen showed that shares of gold mining companies were being sold indiscriminately, falling by double digits, even though the price of gold itself had […]
Friday 06:00 GMT Overview Markets across Asia were mostly higher as investors reflected on record highs for Wall Street and the European Central Bank’s decision to tweak its asset purchase programme. European bourses are expected to open little changed, with spreadbetters predicting the UK’s FTSE 100 will be flat at 6,932 and Germany’s Dax to add 7 points to 11,186. US index futures suggest the S&P 500 […]
Thursday 21:00 GMT Overview The European Central Bank’s latest policy surprise fuelled a volatile session for the euro and government bonds as participants appeared, initially at least, to struggle to assess its implications. But European stocks rose to 11-month highs while Wall Street overcame an early bout of fatigue to set yet more record peaks. Oil prices resumed their upward path, even as a stronger dollar unsettled […]
It was Donald Trump’s press conference in the early hours of November 9 that some pinpoint as the moment fears about what his presidency would mean for stock markets turned into euphoria about his victory. Campaign pledges to give a boost to the US economy were repeated, as the newly president-elect struck a moderate, even conciliatory, tone. Whatever you think of the reaction in financial markets since, […]
Thursday 02.10 GMT Overview Major bourses across Asia latched on to record closes for key Wall Street indices as US stock markets continued to rally one month on from the presidential election. But investors were also turning their attention to the European Central Bank and whether it will at its policy meeting later on Thursday extend the deadline for its asset stimulus programme. Hot topic On Wednesday […]
Sony plans to unleash some of its iconic PlayStation titles on smartphones from next spring, in its most determined attempt yet to capture a bigger share of the $35bn global mobile gaming market. The move follows the runaway success of augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go, with rival Nintendo’s famous character demonstrating the power of Japan’s intellectual property when tapping into a global pool of smartphone users. […]
Wednesday 06:00 GMT Overview Bourses across Asia were higher, taking their cue from Wall Street’s return to near record highs and rally in Europe led by Italian banks. European bourses are expected to open firmer, with spreadbetters predicting the UK’s FTSE 100 will add 30 points to 6,810 and Germany’s Dax to gain 60 points to 10,835. US index futures suggest the S&P 500 will shed 1 […]
