Vincent Viola, the billionaire high-frequency trader, has withdrawn his candidacy to join Donald Trump’s administration on Friday, becoming the first high-level casualty of what has been a chaotic start to the new presidency. The end of Mr Viola’s bid to become Mr Trump’s secretary of the Army came as he faced questions about whether he could extricate himself from his business dealings sufficiently to meet government ethics […]
European equity markets are warning of greater volatility in coming months, as the European Central Bank prepares to cut its stimulus programme and anxiety grows ahead of upcoming elections. Futures contracts in the Vstoxx — a measure of implied volatility for the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 index — reflect expectations of a blip as after the ECB cuts its monthly bond purchases at the end of March […]
A day of market gyrations and pressure for higher interest rates has forced the Bank of Japan to tip its hand by intervening to keep 10-year yields below 0.11 per cent. It is the first time the BoJ has turned last September’s “around zero per cent” cap on the 10-year yield into explicit action, with the central bank offering to buy an unlimited number of government bonds at […]
By Alastair Macdonald and Gabriela Baczynska | VALLETTA VALLETTA European Union leaders said they agreed to stick together in dealing with Donald Trump, but at their first summit since he took office they were at odds on how far to confront or engage with the new U.S. president. Trump and his policies, from questioning the value of NATO and free trade to banning Muslim refugees, came up […]
Submitted by Robert Wood via Forbes.com, President Trump’s executive order on travel may be generating big protests, but an IRS missive on travel and passports may not go down too well either. More than a year ago, in H.R.22, Congress gave the IRS a new weapon to collect taxes. Tax code Section 7345 is labeled, “Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies.” The law isn’t limited to criminal tax cases, […]
The $16tn US retirement savings industry faces renewed uncertainty after the Trump administration said it would review a “fiduciary rule” that forces retail brokers to put their clients’ interests first. The decision prompted dismay from backers of the rule, including Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, who criticised the administration for having Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs president, front the rollout of the new policy. It […]
Investors piled into bank shares on Friday following news that Donald Trump will begin the process to undo parts of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. The S&P 500 financials sector advanced 2 per cent and propelled it back into positive territory for the year on Friday. Within the broad group, the banks subsector gained 2.6 per cent, giving both their best day since November. Morgan Stanley shares […]
Investors have warmed to Russian assets, welcoming the country in from the cold. Russian bond funds counted record inflows in the week to February 1 as higher crude prices and improving relations with the US prompted an investor rotation back into the country. Emerging markets more broadly have found renewed investor appetite as the dollar has fallen to an 11-week low. More than $1bn flowed into EM […]
The White House has said that Israel’s settlement building programme “may not be helpful”, marking the Trump administration’s first public response to a construction spree on Palestinian lands announced by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days. The statement, issued two weeks before Mr Netanyahu is due to visit President Donald Trump in Washington, is a rap on the knuckles for the Israeli prime minister, who […]
Apple clinched $10bn of debt financing on Thursday as capital market activity remained robust, with Microsoft and AT&T also borrowing hefty amounts from investors this week. Apple’s latest bond sale follows a bumper start to the year for corporate and bank borrowings, with more than $185bn raised by investment-grade groups in the US, according to Dealogic. This week Microsoft borrowed $17bn in the largest bond offering of […]
A man who attacked a soldier at the Louvre museum in Paris on Friday cried “Allahu akbar” before he was shot. French police said they believed the man, who was seriously wounded in the incident, intended to carry out a terrorist attack. The man who had two backpacks shouted “God is great” in Arabic and lunged at the soldier at the entrance to the museum shortly after […]
Russia is to spend more than Rbs113bn ($1.9bn) during the next month in an effort to weaken the rouble, marking a reversal from the 2014 foreign exchange shock that forced it to intervene heavily to stop the currency falling too far. The country’s central bank will spend Rbs6.3bn a day on forex transactions from February 7 to March 6, the finance ministry said in a statement on […]
The New York Times is landing on Snapchat, and the Gray Lady thinks its journalism will fit right in on the millennial-dominated social network. “We’re not boring when it comes to visual storytelling,” said Assistant Editor Steve Duenes. “…We have a lot to draw from all forms of digital storytelling.” Expect The New York Times’ upcoming Snapchat Discover channel to be a showcase for visuals from the […]
Passive investors could control over half of US stock and bond markets by 2021, according to Moody’s research — a trend that is illustrated by the strong start to this year for exchange traded funds. US actively-managed funds faced net outflows last year of $340bn as investors poured $505bn into passive products such as ETFs that track indices, according to data from Morningstar, a research service. The momentum […]
By Colin Packham and Aaron Bunch | SYDNEY SYDNEY U.S. immigration officials have postponed interviews with asylum seekers in an Australian camp on the Pacific island of Nauru since President Trump’s executive order on immigration, suggesting Washington is already blocking progress on a controversial refugee resettlement deal. The deal sparked a rare diplomatic spat between the two staunch allies, with Trump berating Australia’s prime minister in an […]
Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick has quit President Donald Trump’s business advisory council on the eve of its first meeting, after mounting criticism from passengers and drivers angry over the president’s immigration order. The move will raise the stakes for other executives on the council, including leaders from Blackstone, IBM, GE, GM, Disney, Pepsi and Tesla. Several have already voiced concerns about the travel ban but none […]
Friday 02.15 GMT Overview Asian markets retreated following another cautious session on Wall Street overnight. Investors have headed to the sidelines as they digest the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting and await the closely watched US jobs report due later on Friday. Hot topic Central banks have been in focus this week. The Bank of Japan, Federal Reserve and Bank of England have all kept monetary […]
By Chris at www.CapitalistExploits.at Market dislocations occur when financial markets, operating under stressful conditions, experience large widespread asset mispricing. Welcome to this week’s edition of “World Out Of Whack” where every Wednesday we take time out of our day to laugh, poke fun at and present to you absurdity in global financial markets in all its glorious insanity. While we enjoy a good laugh, the truth is that the first step to […]
Visa Inc (V.N), the world’s largest payments network operator, reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue as more people made payments using its network. The company, whose shares were up 3.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday, also affirmed its full-year profit and revenue forecasts. “The battle between strong business fundamentals and unfavorable exchange rate shifts will drive our results as we look ahead to the rest of […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for February 3, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Abu Dhabi Outdoor market Check out the Marhaba Market at Deerfields Mall, which offers family fun and […]
The rouble turned volatile as investors made sense of a tweak by the Trump administration to part of the US sanctions on Russia. The currency moved 1.7 per cent higher, trading at an 18-month high of RUB58.547, before quickly giving up most of that rise and falling back below the RUB59 level as investors parsed the decision. The changes in the sanctions appeared to re-authorised certain technology […]
The Bank of England upgraded UK growth forecasts significantly for the second time in six months on Thursday in the latest indication the central bank’s once-dire outlook for the economy after June’s Brexit vote has been proven overly pessimistic. The bank said it now predicts gross domestic product will grow 2 per cent this year, the same as last year and up from 1.4 per cent forecast […]
Nickel rose on Thursday, outpacing other industrial metals, as speculators rushed to close bearish bets after the Philippines pressed ahead with an environmental crackdown on domestic producers. Nickel for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as $250 to $10,500 tonne after Manila ordered the permanent closure of mines that produce about 8 per cent of the world’s nickel supply. The metal […]
Currency traders are in a bind. Has the dollar rally run out of steam and is it ripe for a big sell-off, or has bullish momentum paused ahead of another leg higher? Here are the pros and cons for the currency as we approach several key events in February. What’s bugging the dollar? Investors’ second thoughts. Dollar trading in recent months can be split into three phases. […]
