20 November 2015 The latest minutes from the US Federal Reserve have increased speculation that December will finally see it take the plunge as the first of the major central banks to bring interest rates off their near-zero floor and start tightening monetary policy. However, surprising inactivity…
20 November 2015 With only a few weeks to go until the Christmas festivities, UK consumers are already planning their strategies for purchasing presents for loved ones and making sure they are fully provisioned for holiday food and drink. With this in mind, could seasonality be a catalyst for the UK Supermarkets, giving them…
20 November It’s been a rocky road for commodities in 2015, with OPEC fighting a war of attrition against competitors and metals being battered by China’s slowing growth. Copper is no exception, hitting six-year lows of $4,590 per tonne on 17 Nov. Confidence in copper has rapidly decayed – a lot of Chinese money is…
20 November 2015 Shares in Imperial Tobacco (IMT) are bucking a negative UK Index this morning, having registered fresh all-time highs on speculation that fellow UK Index giant and rival British American Tobacco (BATS) has been courting bankers about financing for a full takeover. Nonetheless, gains are relatively…
UK 100 adds just four points BBC – 20 Nov http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/markets/europe/lse_ukx Britain’s UK 100 index edges higher, miners lead Reuters – 20 Nov http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/11/20/britain-stocks-idUKL8N13F36P20151120 Imperial Tobacco shares hit record levels after report suggests rival BAT looking at financing for a bid, although not guaranteed This is Money – 20 Nov http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3326949/Imperial-Tobacco-shares-hit-record-levels-report-suggests-rival-BAT-looking-financing-bid-not-guaranteed.html Asia: Stocks rally…
19 November Things are looking up for Johnson Matthey (JMAT) after the company announced an attractive set of dividend treats following the sales of its underperforming precious metals refining businesses (and despite a poor H1 earnings report). Shares in JMAT started selling off in late spring and recently settled into a fresh 2-month trading range…