The London market broke a four-day losing streak as the week’s spate of sterling-induced selling eased and consumer stocks from Burberry to Unilever put in robust performances. The marginal gains for the FTSE 100 were not enough to reverse Wednesday’s fall into losses for the year for the benchmark. But UBS maintaining that Burberry was its “preferred turnround name in luxury” and top pick in that European […]
By David Lawder | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON World financial leaders gathered in Washington on Thursday with pledges to work with U.S. President Donald Trump to fix lingering trade problems while vowing to keep their commitments to free trade and global integration. Worries over Trump’s approach to trade, taxes, financial regulation and climate change clouded the start of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, even amid […]
The US has set the stage for a global showdown over steel, launching a national security investigation that could lead to sweeping tariffs on steel imports in what would be the first significant act of economic protectionism by President Donald Trump. The decision to use a 1962 law allowing the US government to limit imports that threaten its security readiness is intended to deliver on Mr Trump’s […]
Verizon lost hundreds of thousands of customers in the first three months of the year despite resurrecting its unlimited data plan. The largest US mobile carrier that powers more than 100m US mobile devices said it lost 307,000 postpaid phone subscribers in the first quarter. Analysts had expected Verizon to add about 200,000 postpaid, or monthly, subscribers, which are viewed as the most lucrative wireless customers. Analysts […]
Oil prices levelled off on Thursday after they dropped more than $2 a barrel following publication of data by the US energy department showing a rise in American gasoline stockpiles for the first time since February. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate edged 14 cents higher to $50.58 a barrel in early European trading while the global Brent benchmark ticked 17 cents higher to $53.10 a barrel. The […]
Thursday 08:00 BST What you need to know ● European bourses soft despite positive Asia session and as US futures steady● Energy shares under pressure as oil struggles to recover from sell-off ● Dollar soft as sterling and euro shrug off election concerns● Sovereign bond yields hold near recent lows ● Gold prices add 0.1 per cent to $1,281 an ounce——————- Hot topic Oil prices are steadier […]
BEIJING Britain will lose more than the European Union from its decision to leave the bloc, the EU’s top diplomat said on Thursday, and talks with London were expected to be difficult. Prime Minister Theresa May formally began Britain’s divorce from the EU last month, declaring there was no turning back, ushering in a tortuous exit process that will test the bloc’s cohesion and pitch her country […]
Jenny Strasburg/The Wall Street Journal Early Friday morning, FBI agents arrested a longtime SAC Capital portfolio manager, Michael Steinberg, on insider-trading charges, making him the most senior employee of one of the nation’s most prominent hedge funds to be snared in the government’s sprawling probe. (via WSJ)
Britain’s benchmark stock index dipped into negative territory for the year on Wednesday, as investors worry that a stronger pound saps the foreign-based revenues for many of the FTSE 100’s multinational companies. The blue-chip gauge slipped as much as 0.5 per cent on Wednesday by the close of trading. The pound retraced some gains in late trade from session highs above the $1.2850 level after surging on […]
Virtu Financial is set to emerge victorious in its effort to buy rival high-frequency trading group KCG Holdings, with a deal expected to be announced on Thursday, according to people briefed on the matter. KCG and Virtu declined to comment. With the announcement of the takeover imminent, Charles Susi, head of institutional sales and electronic trading at KCG, announced internally that he was leaving the company, other […]
The near-5 per cent advance in the $20tn benchmark S&P 500 this year has been reliant on the performance of only a few dozen stocks — with gains by the likes of Apple and Facebook accounting for more than 20 per cent of the index’s climb. Ten stocks in the index, including ecommerce behemoth Amazon, Google owner Alphabet as well as the more defensive cigarette maker Philip […]
South Africa’s rand tumbled in late trading on Monday after a rating agency cut the country’s coveted investment grade status, leaving President Jacob Zuma’s decision to fire his finance minister responsible for wiping out almost all the currency’s gains for the year. The rand slid to R13.7 against the dollar, taking its drop in the past five days to almost 9 per cent. Having recorded a gain […]
British Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday hoping to tap the oil-rich kingdom’s “immense potential” as she looks to secure post-Brexit investment and trade. May landed at a military airport in the Saudi capital, state news agency SPA said, coming from Jordan. Facing criticism at home and calls to raise rights issues with Saudi leaders, May insisted she had no problem talking about […]
RIYADH British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she would raise “hard issues” with Saudi Arabia’s leaders during her visit, as critics urged her to pressure Riyadh over its war in Yemen and human rights record. May was expected to explore ways of boosting trade ties with the kingdom during her two-day visit, her second to a Gulf Arab state since Britain decided to leave the […]
While Republican lawmakers in Congress gear up for a drive to cut regulation on the financial sector, bankers and lobbyists have their eyes on another institution in the US capital — the Federal Reserve. On Wednesday Daniel Tarullo, the Fed governor who has been supervising US banks, leaves the institution after eight years during which he assumed a hardline reputation overseeing the rebuilding of US finance from the […]
JOHANNESBURG President Jacob Zuma said South Africa’s fiscal policies will not change and that people should remain calm after its credit rating was cut to junk following a political reshuffle that he defended as bringing new blood into the cabinet. But moments later, the ANC-allied Cosatu, South Africa’s largest trade union, said Zuma must step down after his change of finance ministers triggered the credit rating downgrade. […]
For traders trying to decipher if Opec’s output cuts are finally tightening the oil market, the evidence may lie out at sea. Data provided to the Financial Times show that crude oil being shipped over the oceans or stored on supertankers has dropped by as much as 16 per cent since the beginning of the year, in a signal that supplies could be dropping faster than many […]
April 4, 2017 by: Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong Tuesday 06.00 BST Overview Asian bonds rallied on Tuesday and yield on US Treasuries dipped to a five-week low ahead of key US events later in the week, while sentiment on South Africa’s rand soured further after S&P downgraded the country’s credit rating. Hot topic The yield, which moves inversely to price, on 10-year US Treasuries rose 1 […]
Despite continued heavy incentive spending, every auto OEM, with the exception of Nissan, missed their sales forecasts for the month of March. The “D3” were the biggest losers of the month with GM sales up 1.6% YoY vs. estimates of +7.0% while Ford sales dropped -7.2% and Fiat Chrysler declined -5.0%. Car sales were even worse with industry volumes down 10.6% overall versus light truck sales that […]
Investors face a test of nerve as the second quarter beckons. The rally in US stocks and the dollar sparked by the election of Donald Trump is looking stretched, amid doubts about the president’s ability to deliver fiscal stimulus for the economy that can justify lofty equity valuations. The shifting mood has spurred money into emerging markets and European stocks, with EM currencies enjoying a stellar March […]
By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stocks were flat on Monday, with investors awaiting the earnings season to justify high valuations, and, more immediately, the implications of President Donald Trump’s “very difficult” meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump said in a tweet last Thursday that the meeting over the coming Thursday and Friday would be “a very difficult one” as the United States could not risk massive trade […]
Most are familiar with the idea of “Sell in May and go away.” Should one take this advice and sell a month earlier this year? The chart below is from good friend Ryan Detrick, looking at monthly returns of the S&P 500’s performance, over four different time frames. CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE The above chart reflects a couple of things; April has historically been a month that it has […]
The merger between First Gulf Bank (FGB) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) formally completed on Sunday, as the board of directors unveiled a new name for the bank. In a statement, the board of directors announced that the merged entity would be named First Abu Dhabi Bank, subject to regulatory approvals and following a General Assembly Meeting to be held “at a later stage” to […]
Monday 09:35 BST What you need to know ● Equities starting second quarter on the front foot● S&P 500 futures just 1.5 per cent off record and Euro Stoxx up 0.4 per cent ● Investors keeping a watch on national manufacturing surveys● Dollar little changed against peers and South African rand continues to slide● Brent and WTI crude hold above $50 a barrel, while gold soft——————- Hot […]
