Europe’s mainstream political parties have voiced their relief after Austria voted against a far-right nationalist becoming president in an election that had been seen as the first of two tests of populism on the continent on Sunday. Alexander Van der Bellen, a Green politician who ran as an independent, won 53.3 per cent of the vote while his far-right opponent, Norbert Hofer of the Freedom party, won […]
Italians and Austrians headed to the polls in closely watched votes on Sunday that will gauge the strength of Europe’s populist and extreme right political parties. Italy’s constitutional referendum on Sunday will determine the political future of prime minister Matteo Renzi and test anti-establishment parties in the eurozone’s third-largest economy. The plebiscite on Mr Renzi’s flagship overhaul — which would shrink the powers of the Italian senate […]
In June, speaking at a former steelworks in western Pennsylvania that now processes scrap aluminium, Donald Trump promised a bright future for US steel if he became president. “It will be American steel that will fortify American’s crumbling bridges. It will be American steel that sends our skyscrapers soaring into the sky,” he said. “We are going to put American-produced steel back into the backbone of our […]
US technology shares faced one of their worst weeks of 2016 as investors shifted their focus to equities that will benefit from the soaring price of oil and the policies of the Trump administration. The S&P 500 technology index, a measure of large companies in the sector, has declined 3 per cent since Friday last week. The fall represents the steepest drop since late April, when Apple […]
Like Christmas ornaments on Main Streets across America, Wall Street banks’ forecasts for the year ahead keep coming out earlier every year. At least this year analysts have something substantive to sink their intellectual teeth into: the impact of incoming president Donald Trump. The results are fascinating — especially for bonds. The fixed income market has been one of the biggest victims in the “Trumpflation trade” that […]
First, write out the numbers one to 100 in 10 rows. Cross out the one. Then circle the two, and cross out all of the multiples of two. Circle the three, and do likewise. Follow those instructions, and you’ve just completed the first three steps of an algorithm, and an incredibly ancient one. Twenty-three centuries ago, Eratosthenes was sat in the great library of Alexandria, using this […]
Ben Carson Nothing’s official yet, but Ben Carson will supposedly serve as Trump’s Housing and Urban Development secretary. In a Republican primary field of establishment politicians, Carson and Trump were consummate outsiders. The demure doctor put together an impressive small-dollar fundraising machine built on the collection of personal information from millions of supporters. Months later, the campaign reported earning quarter million dollars by selling donors personal information, […]
Europe’s financial markets are bracing for Italy to reject the government’s constitutional reforms in Sunday’s referendum, with investors warning that an emphatic No vote risks a sharp sell-off in Italian assets. Although there has not been panic ahead of the vote, there are signs of some nerves among money managers and traders whose attention in recent weeks has been dominated by the reflation trade unleashed by Donald […]
By David Brunnstrom and Emily Stephenson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke by phone on Friday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a transition team spokeswoman said, in a move likely to infuriate China and expected to complicate relations. The call, confirmed by Trump transition spokeswoman Hope Hicks, was the first such contact with Taiwan by a president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter adopted a […]
Donald Trump risks opening up a major diplomatic dispute with China before he has even been inaugurated after speaking on the telephone on Friday with Tsai Ing-wen, the president of Taiwan. The call, confirmed by four people, is believed to be the first between a US president or president-elect and a leader of Taiwan since diplomatic relations between the two were cut in 1979. Although it is […]
India has emerged as one of the most prominent victims of November’s market turmoil. The twin shocks on Nov. 8 of Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s currency crackdown have unleashed a wave of selling in stock and foreign-exchange markets. It is the latest reversal for Western investors banking on an economic revival in the world’s second-most populous nation. Mr. Modi has […]
On the heels of Jeff Gundlach‘s “there’s going to be a buyer’s remorse period” warnings yesterday, the other ‘bond king’ has raised similar fears that the Trump rally is overdone (as are the prospects for growth behind it). Putting aside the book-talking as their bond portfolios suffer, Gross echoes Gundlach’s “Trump’s not the wizard of oz” comments, noting that the next president faces serious structural headwinds and […]
Investors poured money into US equity funds and pulled it from European ones in a week dominated by hopes for an acceleration in US economic growth and anxiety over Italy’s referendum on constitutional reform this weekend. European equity funds lost $2bn in the week to November 30, according to data from EPFR, while US funds attracted $4.4bn. That takes the total inflow for US equity funds since […]
US technology shares are on track to log their worst week in seven months as investors shifted their focus to equities that will benefit from the soaring price of oil and the policies of the Trump administration. The S&P 500 technology index, a measure of large companies in the sector, has declined by 3.3 per cent since last Friday. The fall would represent the steepest drop since […]
The pound climbed to its highest level against the euro in almost three months after a rare public comment from the government on its strategy for leaving the EU, adding further momentum to the currency’s November rally. The pound was worth €1.1940 for the first time since September 7 after David Davis, so-called Brexit secretary, told MPs the UK would consider paying for access to the single […]
A typically sedate government Twitter account sprang to life Wednesday in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he would exit his family business, sending out congratulatory but pointed messages that raised questions about whether the tweets were authorized — or perhaps the work of a rogue employee or hacker. The Office of Government Ethics’ Twitter […] (via WSJ)
By Emily Stephenson and Dustin Volz | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump, who pledged on the campaign trail to “drain the swamp” in Washington, is staffing his on-the-ground transition teams mostly with government veterans, including ex-lobbyists, a Reuters review of publicly available information shows. Drawing heavily from former military, congressional and agency staff, he has named about 140 operatives to “landing teams” at various government departments to […]
President-elect Donald Trump has spoken with more than 40 foreign leaders since he won the Nov. 8 election, but his transition team has provided few details about what is discussed in those conversations. That has left plenty of room for the foreign leaders to offer their interpretations of these phonecalls, ranging from the discreet to the effusive. The latest example came Wednesday, with the Pakistani government issued […]
The month that stunned investors with Donald Trump’s US election victory was a record-breaker in markets. The prospect of big tax cuts and fiscal spending from the incoming administration has stirred the market’s animal spirits, driving Wall Street into record territory, while bond prices have been hit hard by expectations of higher inflation. Here is how November played out in numbers: 13 — The dollar index — […]
Gold has suffered its worst month since mid-2013, as the election of Donald Trump, the rising dollar and increased expectations of a US rate rise combined to send prices down 8.1 per cent in November. The fall to $1,173.20 per troy ounce marked the steepest monthly sell-off since June 2013, when the precious metal lost 11 per cent in the wake of the so-called taper tantrum. November’s […]
The shares of large US energy groups shot up to their highest levels since last July on Wednesday after Opec agreed to the first production cut since the 2008 financial crisis. The S&P 500 energy sector rallied 4.8 per cent in its biggest gain in 15 months. The rise came after the cartel struck a long-awaited pact aimed at reducing the glut of supply on global markets […]
Just as horror movies can spook fright nerds more than they expect, so political risk is sparking heightened levels of anxiety among seasoned investors. Investors caught out by Brexit and Donald Trump are making better preparations for political risk in Europe, plotting a route to the exit door if the unfolding story of French, German and Dutch elections poses a serious test for markets. One key measure […]
Trump has decided to accept corporate contributions, but not money from registered lobbyists, according to a report in the New York Times. Lobbyists have also been restricted from working on his transition team. Inaugural festivities let big donors celebrate alongside the new president and mingle with incoming members of the administration. “You can tell donors do get something out of it when you take a look at […]
For six and a half years, Donald Trump battled fraud allegations against his now-defunct Trump University, claiming it duped students into thinking they’d get personal access to the real estate mogul and the secrets to his success. After both sides vowed to go to trial, the litigation settled for $25 million the week before Thanksgiving, days before a trial was set to begin in San Diego. As part of the […]
