Yellen: Fed Ready to Tighten Rates When Needed
The Federal Reserve will act “decisively” when needed to tighten monetary policy and tamp down any prospects of inflation, a top Fed policy-maker said on Tuesday. More
Dollar May Weaken Near Term as Risk Appetite Revives, UBS Says
“Our near-term bias is for further U.S. dollar weakness,†Gareth Berry, an analyst at UBS in London, wrote in a report today. “We see the chance of risk aversion returning and hence a stronger dollar on a three-month outlook.†More
Woes continue for world carmakers
Carmakers PSA Peugeot Citroen, Daimler and Nissan have all reported big losses in the face of continuing declines in global vehicles sales. More
Bernanke’s dilemma: Ignore politics
After two years of pumping money into the financial system to keep the economy afloat, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will have to reverse the process or risk an opposite problem: inflation. After much anticipation, he announced in July the Fed’s “exit strategy” from its vast intervention, declaring it will happen “in a smooth and timely manner.” It’s reassuring that Fed officials are aware of the inflation risk, but their program is unlikely to succeed. Much research shows that it takes about two years for anti-inflation policy to work. That means the Fed needs to start now and stick with it. More
Chinese shares plunge as state intervention rumours sweep market
Chinese shares suffered their biggest fall in eight months today as rumours swept the market that the government was poised to intervene to end its recent rally.
The benchmark Shanghai composite index was down by as much as 7.7% in afternoon trading, despite huge interest in the flotation of China’s biggest housebuilder. The index eventually closed down 5% at 3266 points, its biggest daily decline this year. More
Shanghai leads share selloff in Asia
Stocks tumble after rallying the past 2 weeks. Shanghai index sheds 5%. Asian shares tumbled from multi-month peaks on Wednesday, in a sell-off led by the Shanghai market, as investors booked in profits ahead of more company earnings. More
Futures off as investors pause, commodities drag
Stock index futures slipped on Wednesday as investors paused to gauge if the recent market run-up will be sustained, while a drop in commodity prices looked set to weigh on shares of natural resource companies.
An overnight sell-off in Chinese stocks was likely to fuel some unease due to concerns that banks may begin to restrict lending there to take some of the froth off the market. More
