Memo ordering US government shutdown October 1, 2013 The US government has begun its first partial shutdown in 17 years. The Federal government failed to pass any federal spending bills for this fiscal year, which begins today. Ongoing wrangling between the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate has pushed approval ratings for Obama and Congress to new lows – 44 per cent and 10 [...]
What you need to know before the open – 01/10 October 1, 2013 Today marks the start of the final quarter of 2013 and, whilst traders are set to deal with an onslaught of data over the next few days as political events unfold, there is a mixed bag of view when it comes to market impact: European markets may seem strangely resilient at this morning's opening-It may [...]
Why the London Docklands hold the key to tackling the UK housing crisis October 1, 2013 HOW DO we solve Britain’s housing crisis? Ed Miliband has promised to see 200,000 homes built each year by 2020. But his pledge was linked to a misguided initiative to stop developers hoarding land (the Office for Fair Trading couldn’t find any evidence that this actually happens). The Tories, meanwhile, are bringing forward the second [...]
Davis returns to haunt Glencore with $3bn miner October 1, 2013 FORMER Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis reinforced his comeback into the mining sector yesterday, with the announcement that his new mining venture has raised $1bn (£618m). Private equity firm TPG and commodities trading house Noble have invested $500m each in X2 Resources, which aims “to create a new mid-tier diversified mining and metals group by…identifying [...]
CNBC Comment: US debt limit debate is the real decider September 30, 2013 SINCE the Fed surprised us by deciding not to start tapering its stimulus programme, we’re back to listening to what Fed members happen to say on the sidelines of events and finding momentum elsewhere. The two big themes to focus on next are the European Central Bank’s (ECB) rate setting meeting tomorrow, and the impact [...]
Daily FX: Analyst picks September 30, 2013 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Looking short dollar-yen, long Kiwi-dollar Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few weeks I remain long on Kiwi-dollar from $0.8165, though I will cut the trade indiscriminately should US and Italian political issues boil over. The pair suffered mightily in [...]
Pound hits $1.62 – highest since 3 January September 30, 2013 Growing fears that political squabbles in the US will result in a temporary government shutdown have seen the dollar weaken against the pound. It's now hit $1.62 – a 3 January high. US bonds are more mixed – 10 years slightly weaker, but five year treasuries a tad stronger. Economists are worried that a temporary [...]
Management shakeup for M&S as Asia exec leaves September 30, 2013 British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is to see more change to its senior management. Sky News' City editor Mark Kleinman reported that Pascal Martin, the executive responsible for the 120 M&S stores in Asia, is to leave next month, having been with the company only since 2011. His replacement, says Sky, is Bruce Findlay, [...]
Cook says humans are most important part of Apple turnover recipe September 30, 2013 Apple boss Tim Cook has given employees of the tech giant bonus leave, so that they can have the whole Thanksgiving week off. His letter to staff is below, and recognises that "our most important resource — our soul — is our people." Team- It’s been an exciting summer. For the first time, we’ve launched [...]
Stress test for EU insurers says European regulator September 30, 2013 Next year, EU insurance companies face a "comprehensive stress test", the European insurance and pensions regulator said today. (Release) Gabriel Bernardino, chairman of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) told the European Parliament today that more consistent and centralised supervision, at a European level, of European firms was needed. Risk assessment, he said, [...]