Debrett’s 500 most influential people: Who’s in and who’s out in business and finance – Mark Carney and Richard Branson joined by Neil Woodford and Nemat Shafik January 24, 2016 The City movers and shakers of the year have been named by Debrett's, in its annual list of the most influential people in the world – from actors and writers to scientists and politicians. In business and finance, it's a who's who of the top men and women at the biggest companies and the most powerful names [...]
RICS: Housing demand jumps as buy-to-let investors go on a mad dash to buy properties January 21, 2016 Demand for property in the UK hit a three-month high in December, as prospective buy-to-let investors rushed to beat the impending rise in stamp duty. Figures by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed the balance of new buyer inquiries rose to plus 16 in December, from plus seven in November. In November, chancellor [...]
BP boss Bob Dudley: Oil prices falling to $10 “not impossible” January 20, 2016 BP's chief executive, Bob Dudley, has said it's "not impossible" oil prices will fall as low as $10 per barrel, as some analysts have predicted. Standard Chartered previously warned a worse-case scenario could see oil fall to this level, because its being moved by changes in other assets prices such as the US dollar and stocks, rather [...]
Oil prices: Glencore chairman Tony Hayward and UBS chairman Alex Weber warn oil to stay lower for longer as WTI slides towards $27 January 20, 2016 Market mavens beat the "lower even for longer" drum on oil prices during an annual meeting of global political and business elites, as US crude careered towards $27 per barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, shed 2.89 per cent to $27.93 per barrel today. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the US benchmark, slumped 3.4 per cent [...]
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and M&S are among most praised companies by NGOs but VW and Royal Dutch Shell make “naughty” list of most criticised January 18, 2016 Tesco, Sainsbury's and M&S are certainly not having the best of times on the high street these days, but there's one place their winning at least. The three are among several of the biggest global companies to make a "nice" list of companies which pressure groups and campaigners across the world, from the likes of Which? to Greenpeace, have [...]
Standard Chartered garners a rare analyst “buy” rating January 14, 2016 Analysts at Berenberg have upgraded their recommendation on troubled emerging markets focused bank Standard Chartered to “buy”, due to a strategy switch to return and risk. Standard Chartered has previously focused on growth alongside fast growing emerging markets. General analyst consensus has been moving against Standard Chartered in recent months, with the latest survey of [...]
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons: Supermarket petrol price wars to intensify as oil rout deepens January 13, 2016 The supermarket petrol price war is set to intensify, as the "lower for much longer" mantra sweeps through global oil markets. Oil has fallen around 15 per cent since all big four supermarkets – Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons – slashed diesel prices to below £1 earlier this month. A Morrisons spokesperson said: “If oil prices continue to fall [...]
US oil falls below $30 a barrel for first time since 2003 January 12, 2016 Oil prices have fallen below $30 a barrel for the first time since 2003. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped very briefly to $29.97 a barrel before returning to $30 a barrel. It comes after a number of banks cut their forecasts for oil prices. Standard Chartered said it could fall to as low as $10 a [...]
Oil prices: Big banks sound alarm over outlook as they cut Brent crude and US WTI forecasts January 12, 2016 Some of the world's biggest investment banks have slashed their forecasts for oil, in the wake of a brutal new-year sell-off, with one institution warning it could crash to its lowest level in more than 18 years. Standard Chartered took the most negative view, warning other asset price movements could send the black stuff crashing to just [...]
The rise of the talking head: why City experts are taking over our TV screens and it’s not just back-to-back suits January 11, 2016 By eight o’clock on a typical Monday morning Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank, will have been at her desk for nearly two hours preparing for her clients and keeping an eye on the markets. She will also have had to squeeze in a couple of live interviews, providing expert commentary for broadcasters from [...]