What’s in store for equities in 2019? January 7, 2019 | City Talk There does not appear to be a lot of cheer for markets as 2019 begins. Risk appetite is strained, and havens are bid with some soft data from China and a rare profits warning from Apple combining to spook equity investors. Volatility came back with a vengeance in 2018 as a turn in the US [...]
Forex 2019: Dollar rally to fade? January 7, 2019 | City Talk The course of 2018 saw a firming in the US dollar against just about every other currency. But the factors that contributed to this steady rise may be starting to diminish. The big question facing the FX markets this year is whether the dollar can continue to push higher or whether the softening in December [...]
Commodity 2019 outlook: Will global growth slowdown force more OPEC production cuts? January 7, 2019 | City Talk Oil prices steadily climbed during 2018 as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) agreed production cuts helped stem the global oversupply. The US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal saw Washington place new sanctions on the OPEC member, and crude surged to four-year highs on expectations of a significant reduction to the global [...]
Apple profits warning a red flag on China, but company also to blame January 7, 2019 | City Talk For a while now there’s been an adage in the markets that as long as Apple was doing fine, everyone else would be OK. Therefore, Apple’s rare profits warning is a red flag for market watchers. The question is to what extent this is more Apple-specific, or more macro? Certainly, the shock letter to investors [...]
IPO activity set to slow over Brexit concerns despite late rally to end 2018 January 7, 2019 IPO activity in London could be subdued in the first quarter of the year despite a late rally in 2018 as companies react to Brexit uncertainty. The fourth quarter of 2018 saw the highest number of quarterly listings – 25 at a total value of £4.4bn – since 2014, according to EY’s IPO report. The [...]
High street remains in hedge funds’ sights as bets against the consumer sector rise in final quarter January 6, 2019 Hedge funds continued to turn the screws on high street retailers, restaurants and makers of consumer goods at the end of last year, with short positions in the sector increasing 20 per cent. The rise in bets against the industry came in the final three months of the year, and means nearly one-third of total [...]
US stocks tumble as Apple slump and trade war fears trigger market rout January 3, 2019 A fresh wave of paranoia has spread across Wall Street triggered by Apple’s slump and mounting fears of an global economic slowdown. Sentiment worsened as US manufacturing activity slowed to a two-year low after a sharp drop in new orders in December, helping knock more than 550 points off the Dow Jones during an unforgiving [...]
Oil price volatility driven by supply curbs and worries about economic contraction January 3, 2019 Oil prices were changeable today as evidence that production had dropped was counterbalanced by fears of an econonomic contraction that could hit demand. A survey from Reuters showed oil supply had its largest month-on-month drop since January 2017 in December. The 15 countries that make up the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pumped [...]
Wall Street shares plummet after Apple warning over China slowdown January 3, 2019 Wall Street shares have plummeted in response to Apple’s warning over a slowdown in China. All three major US indices tumbled on opening as Apple’s nine per cent fall caused another painful day for investors. The tech giant said lower demand for its products in China and the country’s economic deceleration were to blame for [...]
Luxury retailers hit by Apple warning over Chinese slowdown January 3, 2019 Shares in luxury retailers have plunged after Apple blamed a Chinese economic slowdown for its worse than expected sales performance. The tech giant said lower demand for its products in China and the country’s economic deceleration were to blame for its second revenue warning last night. Luxury retailers have subsequently suffered as analysts said investors [...]