New stock trading allegations are set to cast a shadow over Tom Price’s confirmation hearing as health secretary on Wednesday, as Senate Democrats prepare to do battle over Donald Trump’s latest cabinet picks. On Wednesday Senate Democrats and Republicans will question Mr Price, a sitting Republican congressman, over his fitness for the health role and his plans for repealing and replacing Obamacare — a key policy agenda […]
China’s currency was softer after its central bank fixed the renminbi’s trading band at its strongest level in two months in the wake of the dollar’s Tuesday fall against a host of major currencies. The onshore renminbi gained 0.8 per cent against the dollar at the close of trading yesterday as President-elect Donald Trump questioned the value of the dollar, but had weakened 0.3 per cent in […]
By Saikat Chatterjee | HONG KONG HONG KONG Asian stock markets held near three-month highs on Wednesday as investors scooped up exporter shares after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump expressed concerns over a stronger dollar. In Asia, MSCI’s ex-Japan Asia-Pacific shares index .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.3 percent, just shy of a three-month high hit last Thursday. Stock markets in Hong Kong .HSI and China .SSEC led the gains. “Trump’s […]
Wednesday 02:20 GMT Overview Currency movements once again dominated trading in Asia as markets reacted to UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit blueprint and unexpected criticism of the dollar’s strength from US president-elect Donald Trump. Hot topic The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of peers, was up 0.1 per cent at 100.470. It fell 0.8 per cent on Tuesday after comments from […]
A much delayed surveillance system to monitor trading in the world’s largest equity market took a big leap forward on Tuesday with the selection of the group to build and operate the project. Founded in 2009, Thesys Technologies, a trading technology provider, beat out the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and SunGard Data Systems. Called the “Hubble telescope” by one regulator, the so-called Consolidated Audit Trail, or CAT, […]
Researchers offer a treatment algorithm, or protocol, for identifying patients with global (flail arm) brachial plexus injuries who are likely to benefit from trading in their insensate and nonfunctional hand for a myoelectric prosthetic device. (via WSJ)
As we observed in yesterday morning’s market wrap, while US market were taking the day off for the MLK holiday, China was busy defending an accelerating selloff across its stock markets. During Monday trading, having traded quietly lower for the past few days, Chinese stocks tumbled in early trading on the mainland and in Hong Kong’s offshore market amid weakness in Asian equities. The Shanghai Composite Index […]
Donald Trump has threatened to overturn two decades of US economic policy by questioning the strong value of the dollar, raising fears that his presidency could set off a new round of currency wars between the world’s major economies. On Monday the president-elect appeared to break from the longstanding “strong dollar” policy of successive administrations, declaring that the currency was too high and that this was preventing […]
Before she spoke on Tuesday, Theresa May was gaining a reputation for talking sterling lower by spooking investors that Britain was headed to a disorganised exit from both the EU and its common market. Her Lancaster House speech was the first occasion the pound rallied to her Brexit views since becoming prime minister; it had risen nearly 3 per cent by the end of the London trading […]
By Kylie MacLellan and William James | LONDON LONDON Britain will not seek a Brexit deal that leaves it “half in, half out” of the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May will say on Tuesday in a speech setting out her priorities for divorce talks which indicates she is prepared to leave the single market. Sterling, which has traded at the lowest levels against the U.S. dollar for […]
The US dollar is weakening this morning after comments from president-elect Donald Trump that the greenback was “too strong” against the Chinese currency. “Our companies can’t compete with them [Chinese companies] now because our currency is too strong. And it’s killing us”, Mr Trump told the Wall Street Journal. His comments have helped soften the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of its major […]
By Kylie MacLellan | LONDON LONDON Britain will not seek a Brexit deal that leaves it “half in, half out” of the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May will say on Tuesday, according to her office, in a speech setting out her 12 priorities for upcoming divorce talks with the bloc. Those priorities will include leaving the European Union’s single market and regaining full control of Britain’s […]
Asset price movements in the past few weeks have pointed both to the upside and a major risk for the global economy and markets under a Trump administration. Enthusiasm over higher US growth powering the global economy has been tempered at times by worries that certain elements of the president-elect’s “America First” approach could undermine longstanding trading relationships, opening up the risk of economic and financial disruptions. […]
Ministers are drawing up plans for a two-tier system of UK border controls for EU citizens as Theresa May prepares to tighten migration rules at the expense of single market membership. Senior government officials expect the prime minister to decide on a system based on work permits and new automated security checks — similar to the US visa-waiver programme — for EU citizens travelling to Britain. The […]
“Dedication, that’s what you need, if you want to be a record breaker,” sang the TV entertainer Roy Castle on the long-running BBC programme dedicated to notable feats. London’s FTSE 100 has been on a dedicated record-breaking run all of its own, notching up an unprecedented 14 consecutive sessions of gains by the end of last week, a run which only ended on Monday, when the index […]
OPEC probably won’t need to extend a deal it reached with other crude producers to cut output, given compliance with the reductions and the outlook for an increase in global demand, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said. The re-balancing of the oil market should take place by the end of the first half of the year, Al-Falih told reporters during an energy event in the United Arab […]
Traders are anticipating big swings in the pound, ratcheting up the cost of hedging against sterling volatility in preparation for fast-moving developments in the UK’s ever-more fractious relationship with the EU. Theresa May’s Brexit speech that she will deliver on Tuesday has already caused big shifts in the pound, following weekend media reports about its likely content. However, traders are now weighing up the impact of Donald […]
Turkey’s biggest headache, its crashing currency which the central banks appears unable to contain due to an Erdogan order not to hike rates, could soon translate into another major problem. According to two senior economy officials, Turkish inflation could reach double digits in the first quarter for the first time in almost five years as a result of the lira’s falls, putting more pressure on the central […]
US companies have rushed to renegotiate their loans at the start of the year, taking advantage of strong investor demand for debt that is more insulated against an expected rise in interest rates. January’s re-pricing volume has already reached $41.6bn — the highest monthly volume since January 2013 with a further two weeks before the month ends, according to data from LCD, an offering of S&P Global […]
LONDON British luxury brand Burberry (BRBY.L) said on Monday its incoming chief executive Marco Gobbetti will initially join the company on Jan. 27 as executive chairman, Asia Pacific and Middle East, before joining the board and taking the top job on July 5. Italian Gobbetti, the former boss of French brand Celine, was named as Christopher Bailey’s successor as CEO last July. Bailey will take on the […]
The pound has fallen below the $1.20 mark for the first time since the October “flash crash”, ahead of a speech on Tuesday when UK prime minister Theresa May is expected to signal that Britain will fully break out of the EU’s common market after Brexit. The UK currency fell as much as 1.6 per cent to a low of $1.1986 against the dollar in early Asian […]
Monday 02.10 GMT Overview Asian markets were mostly lower despite bank-led gains for Wall Street on Friday but the spotlight was on the British pound as it tumbled to a four-month low amid heightened expectations of a “hard Brexit”. Hot topic Sterling was down 1.3 per cent at $1.2027 after falling as low as $1.1986 in early Asian trading, ahead of a speech on Tuesday in which […]
PARIS/MILAN European carmakers were drawn into a widening probe of diesel emissions testing on Friday, with French prosecutors examining Renault and British authorities seeking answers from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Volkswagen’s VOW_p.DE admission that some of its diesel vehicles were fitted with software designed to hide their true level of emissions has highlighted that most cars spew out far higher levels of health-threatening nitrogen oxide (NOx) in […]
Minister Without Portfolio Konrad Mizzi. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier During the year just ended the Labour government continued to dig itself deeper into a culture of institutionalised corruption with persons occupying high government positions and those close to them partaking of the fruits of a corrupt system. A perfect example was the scandal revealed last year by leaked secret files where then health and energy minister Konrad Mizzi […]
