The decision comes as inflation, which measures price rises over a period of time, remains above the Bank’s 2% target at 3.2%. But bank says cuts are coming. Is the 2% target still a sensible benchmark? The 2% inflation target set by central banks has been a widely adopted benchmarkRead More →
The FTSE 100 soared past 8300, reaching a new record high amid busy trading as London markets reopened after the bank holiday. A catch-up trading session is evident, with mainland-listed stocks having a robust session on Monday 7th May 2024 and continuing to rise. The FTSE reached around 8335 inRead More →
The fragility of U.S. banks: A looming financial crisis or an event unlikely to unfold? Amid escalating interest rates and economic instability, an alarming report has surfaced, suggesting that a considerable number of U.S. banks are on the verge of collapse. This potential looming crisis is attributed to various elementsRead More →
Inflation has become a persistent challenge for the Fed The battle against inflation persists, gradually impacting the U.S. economy and presenting substantial challenges for the Federal Reserve. Despite concerted efforts to control it, inflation remains stubbornly remains, leaving policymakers in a dilemma – to stimulate economic growth or to curbRead More →
The gross domestic product (GDP) from January to March 2024, grew at an annualised rate of 1.6%, significantly underperforming the projected 2.4%. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, crucial for the Federal Reserve’s inflation assessments, climbed at an annualised rate of 3.4% for the quarter, marking the largest increaseRead More →
The Bank of England (BoE) stands as a bastion of economic stability, guiding the United Kingdom through the ebbs and flows of financial tides. Modernising the Bank of England’s forecasting system has become a critical necessity. A recent independent review has cast a spotlight on the ‘serious deficiencies’ within itsRead More →
Despite the recent surge in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and better than expected PPI data, markets have shrugged off any concern… for now Fickle On Wednesday 10th April 2024 the CPI data announcement pushed the markets down and on Thursday 11th the markets recovered after the PPI data wasRead More →
Nvidia, manufacturer of one of the most advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), has significantly benefited from the artificial intelligence (AI) surge due to the high demand for its microchips. The company’s shares have fallen 10% from their recent all-time high, which was over $950. On Tuesday, 9th April 2024, theRead More →
The headline inflation rate registered at 3.5% year-on-year, surpassing the 3.4% economists had anticipated in a Dow Jones survey and marking a 0.3% increase from February 2024. The core CPI experienced a 0.4% rise on a monthly basis and a 3.8% increase from the previous year, both exceeding expectations. U.S.Read More →
The U.S. economy is on a rip, with employers adding around 303,000 jobs in March 2024 – the largest increase in almost a year. As the world’s largest economy continues to surge, questions arise about the Federal Reserve’s next move regarding interest rates. Stronger-than-expected Job Growth The unemployment rate fellRead More →
The precious metal has reached consecutive record highs this year, including a peak on Thursday 4th April 2024. The gold price surpassed $2,300 before slightly retracting. By early Friday, it was trading at approximately $2,278 per ounce. According to some analysts, geopolitical and structural factors are setting gold on aRead More →
The surge in gold prices continues, reaching a new peak on Thursday 21st March 2024, with predictions of further increases as central banks around the world persist in acquiring significant amounts of bullion. Some analysts believe the gold price could climb as high as $2300 per ounce in the latterRead More →
On Wednesday, 20th March 2024, the three major U.S. indices soared to record all-time closing highs after the Federal Reserve decided to maintain rates and kept its ‘expectations’ for three rate cuts by the end of 2024. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 401.37 points to close at 39,512. TheRead More →
The U.S. Consumer Price Index, a comprehensive gauge of the cost of goods and services, rose by 0.4% for the month and increased by 3.2% compared to the previous year. The annual rate was marginally higher than expected. The monthly rate was slightly above the forecast of 0.3%. This mayRead More →
The U.S. national debt has been growing more quickly in recent months, increasing about $1 trillion nearly every 100 days. U.S. debt permanently crossed over $34 trillion on 4th January 2024 according to data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It reached $33 trillion on 15th September 2023, and $32 trillionRead More →
Gold futures for April settled at $2126 per ounce, the highest-level going back to the *contract’s creation in 1974. Analysts suggest that, adjusting for inflation, gold set an all-time high of approximately $3200 in 1980 and bodes well for big gold increases to come in the future. Why is goldRead More →
U.S. inflation climbed in line with expectations in January 2024, according to the preferred measure the Federal Reserve uses to make decisions on cutting interest rates. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding food and energy costs, increased 0.4% for the month and 2.8% from a year ago, asRead More →
Is progress on U.S. inflation stalling? That’s the fear spreading through Wall Street as another inflation reading on Friday 16th February 2024 came in hotter-than-expected. The producer price index rose 0.3% in January 2024. The largest increase since August 2024 and higher than the 0.1% forecast. Excluding food andRead More →
Stocks dropped on Tuesday 13th February 2024 after hotter-than-expected inflation data for January caused Treasury yields to spike The new inflation figure raised doubts that the Federal Reserve would be able to cut rates several times this year, a key part of the equity market bull run case. The consumerRead More →
Jeff Bezos filed a statement indicating his sale of nearly 12 million shares of Amazon stock worth more than $2 billion The Amazon executive chairman notified the U.S. SEC – Securities and Exchange Commission of the sale of 11,997,698 shares of common stock on the 7th and 8th February 2024. The collective value of theRead More →
Progress on U.S. inflation Core prices for personal consumption expenditures (PCE), a preferred measure by the Federal Reserve as a longer-term inflation calculation, rose 2% for the period, while the rate was 1.7%. On an annual basis, the PCE price index rose 2.7%, down from 5.9% a year ago, whileRead More →
The S&P 500 index reached a new all-time high of 4,839.81 on Friday, January 19, 2024. This was the first time the index closed above its previous high set January 3rd 2022. The rally was driven by strong earnings from the magnificent 7 tech giants such as Nvidia and Microsoft. The expectation ofRead More →
For true cryptocurrency bulls, the most lucrative investments in 2023 were in the stock market. While Bitcoin rallied over 150% for the year, shares of Coinbase, Marathon Digital, MicroStrategy and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which are all tied closely to the digital currency, did substantially better, rising more than 300% in value. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital soared someRead More →
UK interest rates have been held at 5.25%. This is the third time in a row the Bank of England has opted to hold rates the same. The decision, which was widely expected by financial markets, means borrowing costs will remain at their highest level for 15 years. the BankRead More →
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) hit a new all-time high, on 13th December 2023. It closed at 36799 surpassing its previous record of 36585points that it had set on 4th January 2022. This was the fourth consecutive record close for the index. Record high The Dow’s record high was driven primarily by theRead More →
Prices across a wide spectrum of goods and services moved slightly higher in November 2023 but were mostly in line with expectations, thus further easing pressure on the Federal Reserve. The consumer price index, a closely watched inflation gauge, increased 0.1% in November, and was up 3.1% from a yearRead More →