Chinese steel and iron ore futures post worst monthly performance on record May 31, 2016 Chinese steel and iron ore futures clocked their worst monthly slump on record, amid a deepening crisis in the global steel industry. Rebar, or reinforcing steel, clocked a 23 per cent monthly decline, its worst on record since launching in 2009. The most-traded rebar on the Shanghai futures exchange closed down 0.8 per cent at 1,978 yuan [...]
Investment bank Societe Generale says Osborne will miss his target of a budget surplus by tens of billions of pounds May 31, 2016 George Osborne will not even come close to meeting his budget surplus target and the next move for UK interest rates will be down, according to Societe Generale's gloomy global economic outlook, published today. The investment bank said risks were stacking up across the world and the current "sweet spot" for financial markets could come to [...]
Russia’s Gazprom moves to quash Saudi-style gas price war speculation May 31, 2016 Russian export monopoly Gazprom has moved to quash speculation that it could start a price war in the European gas market. Analysts, industry experts and commentators have argued Russia, which supplies about a third of Europe's gas via pipelines, could cut its prices in response to higher cost US liquefied natural gas shipments. Such a move would [...]
JP Morgan Cazenove loses its long-standing lead over Bank of America Merrill Lynch in FTSE 100 stockbroking stakes May 31, 2016 JP Morgan Cazenove has lost its long-held position as the top stockbroker for FTSE 100 companies. The bank's crown has been taken by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, new figures from Adviser Rankings show. JP Morgan Cazenove has topped the FTSE 100 rankings every year since Adviser Rankings began compiling the list as part of its [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 31, 2016 It's the last day of May, people are back at their desks after a long weekend in the UK and the US and markets in New York are pointing up. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 14:30 London time. Ahead of the open the S&P is up by 0.04 [...]
Germany and UK push EU unemployment down to post-crisis low May 31, 2016 Unemployment across the European Union reached a seven-year low in April, as Germany clocked a record-low jobless rate and the UK registered its highest ever number of people in work. The rate of unemployment for the entire EU came in at 8.7 per cent in April, down from 8.8 per cent a month before – the lowest [...]
Inflation rate still negative in Eurozone as ECB policies having muted effect May 31, 2016 The Eurozone remained locked in deflation in May 2016, according to flash estimates released this morning by Eurostat. Inflation, on the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) across the 19-member single currency union came in at minus 0.1 per cent, up slightly from minus 0.2 per cent in April. The main index was dragged down by [...]
FTSE quarterly review: Inmarsat and Jimmy Choo set for demotions as Hikma Pharmaceuticals gets ready to move up May 31, 2016 Inmarsat could find itself demoted from the FTSE 100 as part of quarterly changes to the index. The satellite services company, whose shares tumbled earlier this month when it unveiled disappointing first-quarter profits, is set to be bumped from the FTSE 100 – and could be replaced by Hikma Pharmaceuticals, FTSE Russell said today. Meanwhile, [...]
The 14 Google searches that can predict Britain’s unemployment rate May 31, 2016 The three billion searches we make across the world each day using Google may tell us more than simply the latest celebrities everyone is reading about – the massive data points could in fact help us make economic forecasts. Researchers in Finland have managed to put the information to a very valuable use and say they can predict a [...]
Oil prices heading for longest run of monthly gains in five years May 31, 2016 Oil prices are on course for the longest run of monthly gains in five years, helped by supply outages across the world. Brent crude, the global benchmark, slumped 0.9 per cent to $49.33 per barrel today. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, also fell 0.2 per cent to $49.4. Read more: These three perilous trends spell [...]
