Pound’s crash reflects poorly on Downing Street October 12, 2016 Former Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King spoke out on Monday regarding the previous week’s so-called flash crash in the value of the pound. “The whole thing has generated reactions which are over the top,” King said. Just 24 hours later and sterling was, last night, printing figures below $1.21 as foreign exchange traders in [...]
No wonder free trade is under threat: We are only just remembering its downsides October 11, 2016 It had been an article of faith among economists and policy-makers that free trade is a Good Thing. Trade liberalisation was a key feature of the world economic order enforced by the United States after the Second World War. For decades, the trend of removing trade barriers led to world trade growing around twice as rapidly as [...]
Time to take a hint: A weak currency means a weak country October 11, 2016 As the global elite (the “dirty” word du jour) descended on Washington on Friday, working the corridors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, there was one thing they couldn’t ignore. It wasn’t weak growth, it wasn’t negative rates. It wasn’t even Donald Trump. It was Brexit and the pound’s dramatic flash crash. In [...]
Sterling hammered as pound drops toward $1.21 October 11, 2016 Sterling continued its dramatic decline last night, crashing through key levels against both the dollar and the euro during a punishing session. The pound lost two cents against the dollar in a matter of four hours yesterday evening, falling to a low of $1.209 after US markets opened. Sterling also plunged through the €1.10 mark [...]
Tony Hayward reportedly eyeing oil fields in Latin America for a big investor October 11, 2016 The former BP boss, Tony Hayward, is reportedly working with private equity investor Carlyle to find oil fields to purchase in Latin America. Sky News reported that, if successful, he's likely to be paid a fee by Carlyle for introducing the deal to the firm. While it is unclear whether Hayward would have an ongoing role in the new venture, [...]
EU financial transaction tax to be unveiled this year October 11, 2016 Plans for an EU financial transaction tax (FTT) could be published by Christmas after politicians in 10 Eurozone countries agreed to push ahead with plans. After a meeting in Luxembourg late last night, officials declared this morning they would start drafting the legislation which will allow them to place a levy on the trading of financial [...]
Biffa, GoCompare and others will not follow Pure Gym in binning IPO plans October 11, 2016 A series of high-profile London stock market flotations are set to go ahead in the coming weeks, despite Pure Gym abandoning its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) this month. City PM understands waste disposal company Biffa remains confident of listing on the London Stock Exchange this month. Read more: Pure Gym avoids overstretch [...]
IEA says oil market will recover faster if Opec sticks to cut deal October 11, 2016 The International Energy Agency (IEA) said today that the global oil market could recover more quickly if the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) sticks to its production cut deal. "Even with tentative signs that bulging inventories are starting to decline, our supply-demand outlook suggests that the market — if left to its own devices — may remain [...]
Banks’ profitability to be hit by Brexit fears over risky assets October 11, 2016 Market volatility will sap the efforts of Europe's biggest banks to offload their riskiest assets, and continue to drag on their profitability, a new study has warned. Moody's said this morning that the five largest investment banks – Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, RBS and UBS – will have to accept discount prices for so-called [...]
FTSE 100 fails to hold on to new record high October 11, 2016 The FTSE 100 hit a new record high today, before a bumper round of profit-taking sent the index of leading stocks down for the day. The UK's bluechip index hit a high of 7,129 points in lunchtime trading, beating the previous intraday high set in April 2015 of 7,022 points. The gains came as the pound suffered another topsy-turvy [...]
