At the close: FTSE storms over 6,000 in shock four day nine per cent rally as share prices stay volatile February 17, 2016 The FTSE 100 has smashed through the 6,000 barrier, less than a week after falling to lows of just over 5,500. The top share index closed at 6,030.32, up 2.9 per cent on the day, adding over nine per cent in the last four trading sessions. The rebound comes amid recent extreme market volatility across Europe's stock markets, [...]
Why America must now save tragic Europe from itself April 4, 2016 Thessaloniki – I sit, as I write this, perched atop my glorious hotel, in this lovely, vibrant northern Greek city, staring lovingly into the wine-dark sea that is Homer’s Aegean. At the height of the euro crisis last year, things became so bad that café life – the glory of modern Greece – ground to a [...]
Oil price swings expected to continue as market sends mixed messages January 24, 2016 The oil price is expected to remain volatile throughout trading this week after recording massive swings over the last week. Supplies remain high around the world as analysts continue to slash their outlook on the oil price, though industry leaders have remained bullish on a price rise. The oil price staged its biggest two day [...]
European shares rise as FTSE 250 opens higher, with Home Retail’s share price rising nearly three per cent January 18, 2016 The FTSE 100 started the day higher, edging up 0.6 per cent, before it dipped to 5,826 points at the end of the first hour of trading – 0.4 per cent up – despite a mixed performance on Asian markets. The day's stellar performer was FTSE 250-listed Home Retail Group, whose shares rose 3.5 per cent to 159.2p. [...]
Most Aim-listed oil and gas companies loss making January 11, 2016 Ninety per cent of small cap oil and gas companies are still loss making, the same as in 2014, despite attempts to whittle down costs in the face of persistently low oil prices, research released today by Company Watch has shown. And two out of five are in the Warning Area, indicating they are more vulnerable [...]
Only Iran will resolve this phoney oil war – CNBC Comment March 9, 2015 What is the biggest trade in the markets just now? The one-way bet on European fixed income, with ECB QE set to obliterate anyone who challenges ludicrously low yields? The tech bull position, with the Nasdaq around the highs of 2000? Or could it be the brutal battle being fought in the oil market? Let’s [...]
Saudi Arabia mulls IPO of oil producer Aramco – possibly the world’s most valuable company January 7, 2016 Saudi Arabia is mulling an IPO of state owned oil producer Saudi Aramco, possibly the world's most valuable company. Muhammad bin Salman, the kingdom’s deputy crown prince and defence minister, has said the decision about listing shares will be made in the next few months. He has held two high-level meetings about the move, the Economist reports. [...]
Did Israel spy on the US’s private Iran talks? Here are the two sides of the story March 24, 2015 Senior White House officials have accused Israel of spying on talks between the US, Iran and other world powers over the Middle Eastern country's nuclear programme, but Israel denies the claims. The private meetings in question took place last year and involved the UK, Germany, France, China and Russia. The aim was to persuade Iran [...]
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley cast doubt on oil market rebalancing next year December 22, 2015 Some of the world’s biggest investment banks have said that the supply/demand gap for oil will not rebalance as quickly as the market currently expects next year. Goldman Sachs said that the 1.5m barrel a day global market imbalance in the fourth quarter of this year is likely to continue into the first half of [...]
Oil jumps five per cent to $58.03 after traders stage u-turn over Iran April 6, 2015 Oil is creeping up again. It bounced after traders wound down their expectations for the return of Iranian oil, and data showed that the months-long rise in US crude inventories was finally showing signs of slowing. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed five per cent to $58.03 after falling as much as four per cent on [...]