JAPANESE MARKET July 11, 2010 Japanese shares and government bonds are likely to face initial selling pressure today after the government lost an upper house election – a reverse that could thwart its ambitions to curb public debt. Longer term, though, markets will eye which smaller parties the ruling Democratic Party allies with, what policy compromises it makes and whether [...]
JAPANESE MARKET July 11, 2010 Japanese shares and government bonds are likely to face initial selling pressure today after the government lost an upper house election – a reverse that could thwart its ambitions to curb public debt. Longer term, though, markets will eye which smaller parties the ruling Democratic Party allies with, what policy compromises it makes and whether [...]
Rates to stay on hold but tensions rise July 4, 2010 TENSIONS are growing within the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) but they are not yet sufficient to cause a hike in interest rates from the current level of 0.5 per cent, economists say. The minutes of the June meeting showed that Andrew Sentance voted for a 0.25 per cent rise while the other [...]
Rates to stay on hold but tensions rise July 4, 2010 TENSIONS are growing within the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) but they are not yet sufficient to cause a hike in interest rates from the current level of 0.5 per cent, economists say. The minutes of the June meeting showed that Andrew Sentance voted for a 0.25 per cent rise while the other [...]
Property market bottoms out, Barclays Wealth says November 29, 2009 CONFIDENCE in both residential and commercial property is on the up, a report out from Barclays Wealth will show today. The survey, the tenth in a series from the global wealth manager and the Economist Intelligence Unit, will show that twice as many respondents (35 per cent) say they are planning to increase their property [...]
FTSE hits one-week closing high aided by miners as low prices tempt traders July 6, 2010 FIRMER miners helped push Britain’s top share index to a one-week closing high yesterday on improving risk appetite, while signs of strength in Europe’s banking system lifted banks. The FTSE 100 closed up 141.47 points, or 2.9 per cent, at 4,965.00, its highest closing level since 28 June, and its biggest one-day percentage rise since [...]
Coalition told to save banks June 29, 2010 BREAKING up banks such as HSBC would be “an act of vandalism” which would profoundly damage Britain’s standing as an international financial hub, an influential industry magazine warns today. Institutions with strong overseas operations would move abroad, while those who remained would be severely weakened, according to The Banker. The journal, which published its index [...]
Panic over a new global food crisis is over-egged August 9, 2010 TRADERS have been watching wheat markets breathlessly over the past few days as the grain bounced up and then down. Having gained 8.08 per cent last Thursday – up 80 per cent on prices in the middle of June – the grain plummeted on Friday, wiping out much of Thursday’s gain to end the day [...]
Bumper UK earnings fail to lift FTSE as bank sell-off weighs July 29, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed easier yesterday as a retreat from banks and investor caution ahead of US growth data offset a batch of robust UK corporate earnings from companies including AstraZeneca. The FTSE 100 closed down 5.73 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,313.95, after it ended 0.9 per cent lower on Wednesday. AstraZeneca advanced [...]
Wealthy are pessimistic on growth ahead May 23, 2010 WEALTHY investors in the UK are among the most pessimistic in the world, according to a survey by Barclays Wealth due to be published today. Just 16 per cent of people in the UK with more than £1m to invest believe the global economy will grow in the next five years, compared to four in [...]