Financial news - page 4

International Monetary Fund: large fraction of the banking sectors may fail to generate profits in 2025 IMF stated in the latest "Global Financial Stability Report" that "simulation exercise conducted for a group of nine advanced economies indicates that a large fraction of their banking sectors, by

UK government sells negative-yield bonds for the first time The UK Treasury has on several occasions since 2016 sold short-term, one or three-month bills at a negative yield, but this is the first time a longer maturity bond has gone negative. The UK issued its first bond with a negative yield as

China decides not to set a GDP target for 2020 as coronavirus batters the economy Chinese Premier Li Keqiang shared the government’s outlook Friday as part of China’s annual parliamentary meeting, delayed by about two months this year due to the coronavirus. Last year, GDP expanded by 6.1%, just

Bank of Japan launches its version of Fed’s ‘Main Street’ lending scheme Japan’s central bank created its own version of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s “Main Street” lending program to channel more money to small businesses, in a bid to keep the coronavirus pandemic from pushing the economy deeper into

Fed's Williams Optimistic for a Rebound, But Uncertain on Pace Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Thursday it is unclear when the U.S. economy will fully recover from the coronavirus pandemic, adding that the central bank will do all it can to help the country navigate the

IHS Markit: collapse in U.S. economy peaked in April IHS Markit says latest U.S. PMI data indicate rate of collapse in U.S. economy peaked in April. U.S. private sector firms reported a slightly slower rate of contraction in activity in May, according to latest PMI data from IHS Markit. The firm

Eurozone PMI survey: economy has ‘likely bottomed out’ The eurozone’s economic slump has “likely bottomed out” after the bloc suffered a disastrous collapse under lockdowns to contain coronavirus, a closely watched survey by IHS Markit said Thursday. The contraction across the 19 EU nations using

Downturn in UK private sector continues in May; "the recovery will be measured in years not months" UK private sector output remained on a steep downward trajectory in May due to business shutdowns amid the coronavirus, or Covid-19, pandemic, according to the flash survey results published by IHS

Fed Minutes highlight uncertainty; the economic activity could recover more quickly In addition to the severely adverse near-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting noted the outbreak and the measures undertaken to contain it have

More Central Bank Rate Cuts, Mixed Global Economic Data and a Weaker Dollar The dollar traded down overnight by 1.2% against the peso, 1.0% relative to the kiwi, 0.9% vis-a-vis the Australian dollar, 0.6% versus the Swiss franc, 0.4% against the euro, 0.3% relative to the loonie and 0.1% against

Bailey Says Bank Of England Not Ruling Out Negative Interest Rates Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the UK central bank is currently reviewing all its tools and it would be foolish to rule out any one of them, including negative interest rates. "We do not rule things out as a matter of

Philip Morris’ Stock Down 12% Despite Revenue Growth; Time To Buy? Philip Morris’ stock (NYSE: PM) lost about 12% of its value in the last 3 years, with the stock price dropping from $77 at the end of 2016 to $68 as of 18th May 2020. At the same time, Philip Morris’ revenues steadily increased from

UK Inflation Slowest Since 2016 UK inflation slowed to the lowest since 2016 on weak oil prices in April, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. Consumer price inflation eased to 0.8 percent in April from 1.5 percent in March. Economists had forecast the rate to ease to 0.9

IfW Kiel Predicts 7.1% Fall In German GDP In 2020, 7.2% Growth Next Year Germany's economy is set to shrink 7.1 percent this year due to the impact of the coronavirus, or Covid-19, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) said in a report on Tuesday. However, the biggest euro area economy

German Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Double-digit Drop In German GDP This Year The German economy is set to shrink at a double-digit rate this year due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus, or Covid-19, pandemic, the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) said Tuesday. Gross

German ZEW Economic Confidence Strengthens In May German economic confidence improved notably in May, survey data from the ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research showed Tuesday. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment rose 22.8 points to 51.0 in May. The expected reading was 32.0

United States building permits slumped to an annual rate of 1.074 million in April The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have now published their findings for April new residential building permits. The latest reading of 1.074M was a decrease from 1.356M in March

€10tn Eurobond club admits first Chinese bank The appointment of the mainland Chinese bank is the latest step in the country opening up to international financial markets. The China Construction Bank has become the first mainland Chinese bank to join a select group of financial institutions playing

Amazon in talks to acquire J.C. Penney Amazon is in talks with J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP), WWD reports. Amazon is said to be a contender for either all or parts of JCP. "There is an Amazon team in Plano as we speak," said one source. "There is a dialogue and I’m told it has a lot to do with Amazon eager

UK Unemployment Rate Rises Marginally The UK unemployment rate rose only marginally in the first quarter, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. The ILO jobless rate came in at 3.9 percent, well below economists' forecast of 4.4 percent. The ONS said the unemployment rate was

New Zealand Producer Price Outputs Add 0.1% In Q1 Producer price outputs in New Zealand were up 0.1 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2020, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday - slowing from 0.4 percent in the three month prior. Producer price inputs fell 0.3 percent on quarter after

German GDP To Fall Significantly In Q2 The German economy is set to see a significant fall in the second quarter despite easing of coronavirus containment measures, the Bundesbank said in its monthly report, released Monday. "Despite the easing measures that have been introduced, social and economic

Eurozone Unlikely To Return To Pre-crisis Level Before 2021, Says ECB's Lane The euro area economy will not return to pre-pandemic level until 2021, European Central Bank Executive Board Philip Lane said in an interview with El País. The future depends much on how quickly the restrictions on

Emergency short selling ban lifted by European markets regulator The decision means investors will now be able to place short bets on all shares in Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy and Spain without restriction. The temporary short selling ban issued across several European countries to help

China Home Prices Increase In April China's home prices increased in April suggesting that the property market started gradual recovery as businesses reopen after the spread of coronavirus subsides. Out of 70 cities, house prices increased in 50 compared to 38 cities in March, data published by the

Fed's Powell: Powell: US recovery could take till end of 2021 The most important data for the U.S. economy right now are the “medical metrics” around the coronavirus pandemic, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Sunday night in broadcast remarks where he outlined the likely need for three to

Japan GDP Contracts 0.9% On Quarter In Q1 Japan's gross domestic product shrank a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2020, the Cabinet Office said in Monday's preliminary report. That exceeded expectations for a 1.2 percent drop following the 1.8 percent decline in

China central bank should shun risky bond buying as economy improves The People’s Bank of China should avoid buying special treasury bonds as such a move could fuel inflation risks and asset bubbles and lead to depreciation of the yuan currency, central bank policy adviser Ma Jun said in remarks

UK economy to recover slowly from COVID: budget office Britain’s economy is unlikely to have a quick bounce back as it recovers from its coronavirus shutdown which could have wiped more than 30% off output last month, the head of the country’s budget forecasting office said on Sunday. Robert Chote

JC Penney: US department store files for bankruptcy American department store JC Penney has filed for bankruptcy becoming the latest company to be hit by Covid-19. The 118-year-old store sells clothing, cosmetics and jewellery at over 850 locations across the country. It employs more than 80,000