Aiming high: Junior market hits £80bn milestone September 6, 2016 The Alternative Investment Market (Aim) soared over the summer, taking its combined market cap to £80bn at the end of August. The UK's junior market, which is designed to attract smaller companies to go public, climbed by 3.4 per cent in August. Combined with a sprinkling of new listings, the rise helped the index pass [...]
Pound storms to two-month high against dollar after shock fall in key US indicator September 6, 2016 The pound has surged to a new two-month high against the dollar after a crucial indicator of activity in the US economy crashed, raising yet more question marks over the timing of the next interest rate rise. The closely-watched Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped from 55.5 in July to 51.4 [...]
Oil majors’ profits to pass $1 trillion mark this year September 6, 2016 The world's six largest oil companies are on course to pass the $1 trillion (£479bn) profit market this year, despite the recent commodities downturn which has riled the industry. Broker Canaccord Genuity's report released today said that BP, Chevron, Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and Total are expected to clear this mark by 31 December 2016, based [...]
All that glitters: Anglo American’s diamond business De Beers reports higher sales on pre-Christmas demand September 6, 2016 Anglo American said today sales at De Beers, its diamond unit, rose as manufacturers snapped up the precious gems ahead of the holiday season. The world's largest diamond producer by value reported rough diamond sales generated $630m (£472.65m) in its seventh offering this year, up from $528m in the previous round. Read more: How this digital-focused jewellery retailer is shaking [...]
Retail sales sunk back in August in a “U-turn” of fortunes for the sector September 6, 2016 Retail sales slowed in August, representing a "U-turn in retail fortunes" compared to figures from July. Overall sales fell by 0.3 per cent – the biggest month-on-month decline since September 2014, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Like-for-like sales were down 0.9 per cent as compared to August last year; on [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Donald Trump blasts US Federal Reserve for creating a “false economy” September 5, 2016 Donald Trump has hit out at the US Federal Reserve, saying the era of record low interest rates since the financial crisis has created a "false economy". On the campaign trail in the key swing state of Ohio, the Republican presidential nominee waded, once again, into the thorny issue of monetary policy, stating the Fed would [...]
The two Morgans now believe the UK will avoid a Brexit recession September 5, 2016 The UK was given another shot in the arm today, as two leading investment banks hiked their forecasts for economic growth. After suffering its sharpest fall since the financial crisis in the wake of the referendum, the services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) soared from 47.4 to 52.9 in August, smashing expectations on the index where [...]
Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s to judge firms on climate change credentials September 5, 2016 Ratings agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) is gearing up to launch a new set of financial tools to allow investors to monitor the impact of their green investments and check how environmentally friendly big firms are. S&P has today unveiled plans for a "green bond evaluation tool … to analyse and estimate the environmental impact of [...]
As recession fears fade following strong services PMIs, was the Bank of England wrong to cut interest rates post-Brexit? September 5, 2016 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and a former member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, says Yes. Very low interest rates have been with us since 2009, but the Bank of England’s latest stimulus package has had a dramatic impact on long-term investment returns. Twenty-year UK government bond yields are now just over 1 [...]
Delaying the inevitable: How long can central banks extend the credit cycle? September 5, 2016 Calling the end of the current credit cycle is becoming an increasingly popular sport among seasoned market-watchers. While there is division over exactly when it will conclude, the consensus is it will be soon. Last week, Deutsche Bank analysts came to the conclusion that they were “not quite ready to call the end of the [...]
