Oil price hits a five-year low: What does this mean for markets? December 8, 2014 Equities could see a lift, but it’s bad news for oil exporters Looking ahead to 2015, there’s plenty for markets to fret about. Rate hikes in the UK and US are a near certainty – after years of extraordinary monetary stimulus that propped up asset prices and kept sovereign bond yields low – as are [...]
London Report: Energy boost from Iran deal lifts the FTSE November 25, 2013 BRITAIN’S main share index rose for the first time in a week in thin trade yesterday as travel stocks rallied on expectations that a nuclear deal between oil-rich Iran and six world powers would help cut fuel costs. Airlines IAG and EasyJet, and cruise operator Carnival, rose between two per cent and 2.8 per cent [...]
US seeks more Iran sanctions ahead of deal November 10, 2013 US LAWMAKERS said last night they aimed to tighten sanctions on Iran to prevent Washington giving away too much in a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme that diplomats said was still possible despite the failure of high-level weekend talks. Negotiators from world powers will resume talks with Iran in 10 days after failing late on [...]
BNP Paribas in oil data probe June 16, 2014 US REGULATORS are combing through several years’ worth of oil trading documents as part of their investigations into BNP Paribas, it emerged yesterday. The French bank is being probed over claims it has broken US sanctions against countries like Iran and Cuba, and this is the first sign of the type of transactions which may [...]
StanChart falls foul of New York regulators again August 6, 2014 STANDARD Chartered is embroiled in another US investigation, after the bank yesterday revealed it had failed properly to analyse transactions for evidence of criminal activity. The troubled bank cold pay as much as $340m (£202m) to the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) to settle the case – below the fine it paid the [...]
Does today’s geopolitical landscape share parallels with the run-up to the First World War? August 4, 2014 Michael Stephens, deputy director of RUSI Qatar, says Yes. The First and Second World Wars forced the creation of global institutions designed to stop states from disregarding international security norms. Nevertheless, the world of 2014 is a grim place, with international tensions close to boiling point. As the United States retreats from its hegemonic role, [...]
BNP Paribas set to be given six months’ grace before suspension June 30, 2014 BNP Paribas has negotiated terms to water down the record $8.9bn (£5.2bn) fine it is expected to be handed today for alleged sanctions violations in the US. France’s biggest bank has won a six-month stay of execution on its suspension from clearing US dollar transactions, according to the Financial Times. That would give it until [...]
Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank next in line for US sanction fines July 8, 2014 US authorities have begun settlement talks with Germany’s Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank over their dealings with countries blacklisted by the United States, extending a crackdown on European banks at a delicate point in US-German relations. The talks, with state and federal authorities, came after BNP Paribas’ record-breaking $8.9bn (£5.2bn) fine last week for busting US [...]
BNP Paribas execs to leave amid US probe June 12, 2014 Embattled French bank BNP Paribas yesterday announced the loss of its chief operating officer, who is retiring in September, as pressure grew on senior adviser Vivien Levy-Garboua to leave the firm. COO Georges Chodron de Courcel has worked at the bank for 42 years and was involved in the 2000 merger of the banks BNP [...]
Barclays upbeat on brent crude as geopolitical risk keeps prices buoyant May 20, 2014 The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) gave a cheerful outlook on the oil market in its latest monthly report, and now Barclays is getting in on the act. Research today from the FTSE 100 bank said that it expects the brent oil price to stay above $105 (£62.40) per barrel on average this year [...]