If President Jacob Zuma of South Africa wanted to know how markets would react if he sacked Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, he got part of the answer this week. The rand shed 4.4 per cent of its dollar value earlier this week after Mr Zuma ordered Mr Gordhan to cancel a roadshow with investors on the first day and fly home from London, without explanation. The […]
Friday is inflation day. A quiet week for economic data springs into life with reports on Japanese jobs and industrial production; French consumer spending; German unemployment; UK GDP; and US personal income and consumer sentiment. Prices will be a constant theme, with various inflation iterations presented by Japan, France and the US — the latter in the form of the PCE deflator. But arguably the most intriguing […]
Thursday 08:35 BST What you need to know ● Stock markets mixed after Wall Street’s steady display● Shanghai Composite hits 6-week low amid liquidity concerns● Sterling holds above $1.24 as traders ponder Brexit implications● Dollar index above 100 as euro softens on ECB report● Oil prices add to Wednesday’s 2.1 per cent gain and gold dips——————- Hot topic Traders are keeping a wary eye on the action […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for March 30, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Ellen Fortini rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Abu Dhabi Family fun Yas […]
In the first study to survey and interview parents who play ‘Pokémon GO’ with their children, families report a number of side benefits, including increased exercise, more time spent outdoors and opportunities for family bonding. However, some guilt about screen time persisted. (via WSJ)
So much flip-flopping from Dennis Gartman in just the past week, it is enough to make one’s head spin. After missing Friday’s move lower, on Monday morning Gartman said he was actively looking to “re-establish net short positions” when S&P futures were sharply lower to which we said “at the rate the S&P is covering its opening losses, he should be able “find a point” where the […]
After nine months’ gestation, the Brexit process has started. Both sides of the referendum have political points; Brexiters can say the UK economy is growing and there has been no market implosion, while Remainers can say UK assets have drastically underperformed the rest of the world, and the costs of the historic sterling devaluation are yet to be counted. Now, it is time to work out what […]
Wednesday 04:40 GMT Overview Asian markets were mixed, with energy stocks benefiting from a recovery in crude oil prices, while the UK pound dropped after Prime Minister Theresa May dispatched the letter that will trigger Britain’s exit from the EU. Hot topic The pound weakened 0.3 per cent to $1.2409 in Asia trade, bringing its losses over the past two sessions to 1.2 per cent, in response […]
Overseas companies that invest in the UK issued a flurry of warnings on Tuesday about the threat Brexit poses to their businesses, signalling their growing concern as the UK prepares to start the formal process of leaving the EU. Forty European business lobbies, representing 20m companies in 34 countries, issued a statement calling for a post-Brexit settlement which would preserve the integrity of the single market, deliver […]
WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. on Tuesday arrested two Iraqi refugees living in Northern Virginia after they failed to disclose that one of their brothers had been involved in the 2004 kidnapping of an American contractor in Iraq. The refugees, Yousif Al Mashhandani, 35, of Vienna, Va., and Adil Hasan, 38, of Burke, Va., admitted to the F.B.I. that they did not tell the authorities about their brother […]
ABU DHABI // With globalisation threatening to erode the national identities of students across the GCC, experts and academics gathered in the capital on Tuesday to discuss how to promote Khaleeji culture and bonds. The two-day Strengthening Gulf Citizenship conference hosted by the Ministry of Education sought to address how technology and communications can be harnessed to promote a shared regional identity among youths, rather than allowing […]
When it comes to hedge fund paranoia, few can hold a light to the world’s undisputed leader: Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater – the former employer of current FBI director James Comey – which in addition to maintaining absolute secrecy about its operations, policies and culture, and vigorously pursuing anyone who disseminates Dalio’s famous morning notes, has relentlessly sued any former employees who breach the company’s notorious non-compete. And […]
JOHANNESBURG Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is set to return to South Africa early on Tuesday after being ordered home from London by President Jacob Zuma, hours before a court hearing over the closure of accounts belonging to friends of the president. Zuma’s order on Monday that Gordhan return “immediately” from a roadshow for investors in Britain and the United States has revived talk of a cabinet reshuffle […]
European governments and related organisations have ramped up their sales of new debt this year, in the latest sign of bond markets bracing for rises in interest rates and an increase in political risks. Overall borrowing from eurozone sovereigns, local authorities, agencies and supranationals such as the European Investment Bank is currently at €210bn — the highest year-to-date amount since 2012, Dealogic data show, and the second-highest […]
By Mfuneko Toyana and Sujata Rao | JOHANNESBURG/LONDON JOHANNESBURG/LONDON South African President Jacob Zuma asked Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Monday to return home “immediately” from an investor roadshow abroad, reviving talk of a cabinet reshuffle and unnerving investors who see Gordhan as an emblem of stability. The rand fell more than 3 percent against the dollar, its biggest one day fall since Nov. 10, South African […]
March 27, 2017 by: Roger Blitz in London and Eric Platt and Robin Wigglesworth in New York Financial markets shuddered on Monday as investors absorbed the collapse of US healthcare reform last week, with some fearing pro-growth policies like tax reform could be stymied by government inaction and a Republican party in disarray. Global stocks retreated, US banks slid into correction and the dollar index fell to […]
Barclays Bank on Monday launched the first exchange traded fund in east Africa when it listed the Barclays NewGold ETF on the Nairobi stock exchange. The product is a cross-listing of the $1.4bn NewGold ETF that sits on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2004 and is also publicly traded on five other African markets. Its initial size in Kenya will be Ks500m ($4.8m) with capacity for expanding […]
In July 2011 an unusual fascination had gripped some members of New York’s financial community. Walk into a Manhattan office expecting to discuss the US stock market with an investor who exclusively backed equity hedge funds, and they instead had Italian government debt on the brain. Selling short bonds of the eurozone’s third-largest economy had become so popular that non-debt specialists had started to notice, and rising […]
Monday 04:30 GMT Overview Dollar weakness weighed down Asia-Pacific equities while government bonds and gold gained as investors in the region sought havens in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s failure to repeal Obamacare. Hot topic The US dollar was lower against a variety of currencies in Asia as investors tempered expectations of pro-business reforms from the Trump administration after Republicans failed to unify around healthcare […]
SENATOR Antonio Trillanes IV is “making up a story” on President Rodrigo Duterte’s dinner invite to Vice President Leni Robredo, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said on Monday. Panelo’s statement came after Trillanes, a critic of Duterte, claimed that the Chief Executive had invited Robredo to a dinner “to disarm and politically neutralize her.” Panelo said Duterte’s initiative to break bread with Robredo is a “good” […]
Last week saw the largest drop in aggregate Treasury short positions since Brexit. Ironicaly, while bond bears felt the squeeze, traders piled into Eurodollar shorts (increased rate-hike bets) sending the short-end’s positioning to record highs. Across the entire Treasury bond futures complex, shorts covered over 200,000 10-year-equivalent contracts (around $20 billion notional), but as is clear below, the net short – while the smallest since December 2nd […]
By Jessica Toonkel and Jennifer Ablan U.S. equity index futures fell to a six-week low on Sunday in a sign Wall Street would start the week defensively after Republicans pulled legislation to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system in a stunning setback for President Donald Trump. S&P 500 e-mini futures ESv1 were down over 0.65 percent, shortly after electronic trading resumed on Sunday evening. Volume of more than […]
After a week dominated by questions over whether Donald Trump will be able to push his economic agenda through Congress, here are the questions FT markets reporters are asking in the final trading week of March. Will investors keep faith in Trump’s ability to drive tax cuts? That is the question facing equity markets after the White House failed to muster the support needed in the House […]
By Lucia Mutikani | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON New orders for U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in February, but a surge in shipments amid demand for machinery and electrical equipment supported expectations for an acceleration in business investment in the first quarter. Manufacturing is recovering from a prolonged slump, driven by the energy sector, bucking a slowdown in the broader economy. The Federal Reserve last week described business investment […]
