Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Sixty-three per cent of people said CEOs should be paid no more than 10 times earnings of lower- or mid-ranking employees
Six in 10 people think company bosses should be prevented from earning more than 10 times the average paid to employees, according to polling shared exclusively with the Guardian.
A poll for the High Pay Centre, a thinktank that campaigns for fairer pay for workers, found that 63% of Britons said chief executives should be paid no more than 10 times the earnings of lower- or mid-ranking employees.
The oil price has opened higher too, with Brent crude up 2% at $125.70 per barrel.
Yesterday, Brent spiked alarmingly to $139 per barrel, a 14-year high, after the US said it was talking to its European allies about potentially banning Russian oil imports. It then slipped back, as Germany’s Olaf Scholz pushed back against the idea.
“This is the tightest fundamental backdrop in years and the developments in Russia/Ukraine have ignited a market that was already a coiled spring. How high can oil prices go? Pick a number, this is a market in disarray.
Market fundamentals are the strongest in at least 15 years… it is not unfathomable for prices to rocket to $200/bbl by summer, spur a recession and end the year closer to $50/bbl ($200 call options have been bid). To be clear, this is not our base case, but such a scenario does not sound implausible today. Two weeks ago, such a notion would have been ludicrous.”
The reopening of hospitality venues, and higher demand for premium spirits, has boosted drinks maker Diageo.
Diageo, whose brands include Johnnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka, Tanqueray gin and Baileys Irish Cream, grew its sales by 15.8% in the second half of 2021.
The positive price/mix benefit was primarily driven by mix, reflecting the strong growth of premium plus brands, particularly in scotch, tequila and Chinese white spirits, as well as the continued recovery of the on-trade channel in Europe and North America and the partial recovery of Travel Retail.
There was also a price benefit, primarily from price increases in Latin America and Caribbean, Africa and North America.
“Diageo has produced a great set of results with a strong increase in sales, margin, and profits over the past six months.
The continuing shift by consumers to spirits consumption has benefited the company, as this is a sector of the drinks market that it dominates.
European stock markets have shrugged off growth fears and talk of a stock market pullback, to end the day higher.
In London, the FTSE 100 gained 39 points or 0.55% to end at 7068 points. Royal Mail (+3%), Lloyds Banking Group (+2.8%), and hedge fund management group Pershing Square (+2.6%) led the risers.
Spain's Ibex up 1.3%. German Dax up 0.6% The major European indices are ending the day with gains across the board:
German DAX, +0.56% France's CAC, +0.2% UK's FTSE 100, +0.55% Spain's Ibex, +1.3% Italy's FTSE MIB, +0.9% In other markets as European/London traders look to exit:
Fears that the fast-spreading Delta variant of Covid-19 will hurt the global recovery sent stocks sliding on Thursday, as investors worried that economic growth could be slowing.
Shares fell sharply in London and across other European exchanges, after losses in Asia-Pacific markets, on concerns that the economic rebound from the shock of the pandemic may have peaked, and on signs of a slowdown in China.
The FTSE 100 has closed above 7,000 for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a collapse in global markets last year, driven by rising hopes for the world economy after record growth in China.
Back to bitcoin... and a senior US central banker has insisted that the cryptocurrency doesn’t present a serious threat to the US dollar’s position.
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard told CNBC that the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency was safe:
“I just think for Fed policy, it’s going to be a dollar economy as far as the eye can see — a dollar global economy really as far as the eye can see — and whether the gold price goes up or down, or the bitcoin price goes up or down, doesn’t really affect that.
“You don’t want to go to a non-uniform currency where you’re walking into Starbucks and maybe you’ll pay with Ethereum, maybe you’ll pay with Ripple, maybe you’ll pay with bitcoin, maybe you’ll pay with a dollar. That isn’t how we do this. We have a uniform currency that came in at the Civil War time.”
Bitcoin poses no threat to the dollar as the world's currency leader, Fed's Bullard says https://t.co/vc0gwcXYd4
It’s also been an exciting day for Italian government bonds.
Rome sold debt at near record-low interest rates today, as investors flocked to the first bond auction since former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi became prime minister.
Rome is set to raise a total of €14bn ($17bn) from the sale of a 10-year nominal bond and a 30-year inflation-linked note, one of the banks managing the issue said, adding demand had totalled more than €82bn.
The final size of the order book is well below the record €134bn in demand the two bonds had initially attracted, with many investors dropping out after Italy cut the return on the issues.
Draghi sells! #Italy attracted >€110bn of investor bids for a new 10y bond it’s offering in a publicly-syndicated sale which is the first since Mario Draghi took over as PM. (via BBG) pic.twitter.com/j7s1YfM5oT
Neil Wilson of Markets.com suggests that large investors may also be driving the silver price rally, rather than it simply being caused by retail traders.
He also warns that such speculation is risky, and usually ends badly for some of those who get caught up:
The fact that such a large and liquid market as silver can be targeted by retail investors says much about the shift we are witnessing, though despite appearances this morning it’s going to a lot harder to squeeze silver shorts as the market is so much deeper and more liquid.
We should also note that some bigger smart money may have be front-running this trade to piggyback the rally and further fuelling the move up. (George Soros: “When I see a bubble forming, I rush in to buy, adding fuel to the fire.”)
Allianz’s Mohamed El-Erian has tweeted that GameStop and silver are not the same kind of short squeeze trade (as some WallStreetBets posts have also been pointing out).
El-Erian also cautions that the silver squeeze could undermine the squeeze on hedge funds who shorted GameStop’s shares, as the GME trade depends on keeping retail investors on board (rather than selling to the hedge funds).
.#GameStop and #silver are not the same for those pursuing the short squeeze trade The silver market is much larger; Existing shorts are smaller; Some of the #HedgeFunds that are short #GME are said to be long silver Bottom line: A dissimilar trade that eats away at #GME gains https://t.co/TMfpkr7QDE
International Monetary Fund says there are concerns about share price bubble
Governments and central banks must maintain their pandemic rescue programmes or risk triggering a stock market crash, the International Monetary Fund has said.
Warning that there were legitimate concerns about a share price bubble, the Washington-based organisation said that without continued low interest rates and government subsidies it was possible a “correction” in stock markets would occur.
UK footwear brand expected to launch market listing on Monday, with CEO in line for stake worth £58m
The British footwear brand Dr Martens is expected to launch a stock market flotation on Monday that would value the Northamptonshire firm at £3.5bn and generate a huge windfall for its bosses and backers.
The company, known for its boots with chunky air-cushioned soles and distinctive yellow stitching, was owned until 2013 by the Griggs family, who sold to the private equity investment group Permira for £300m but retained a near-10% stake. Just seven years later the business has soared in value and when it lands on the stock market will create numerous multimillionaires.
Despite Covid, global stocks started 2021 on a high. But some analysts warn of an ‘epic’ bubble, amid fears that the flow of stimulus has created a monster
Insurrections are not usually seen by investors as buy signals. Yet even as rioters stormed the seat of US legislative government last week, stock market indices hit new highs in New York, adding another chapter to 12 months of apparent defiance of economic gravity.
Wall Street, measured by the benchmark S&P 500, was not alone in starting 2021 with a bang. London’s FTSE 100 jumped by more than 6% in the first week of the year as investors took in a heady cocktail of a President Joe Biden ready and able to spend money, cheap borrowing costs, and the hopes that vaccines will end the coronavirus lockdowns. Yet amid the exuberance a serious concern looms: are we on the cusp of another colossal crash?
Dow rallies by 450 points to close above 30,000 for first time
Investors cheer hopes of vaccine and smooth Biden transition
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has topped the 30,000 mark for the first time as financial markets around the world rally amid hopes for a coronavirus vaccine and smooth transition to a Joe Biden presidency.
The landmark for the Wall Street market comes as investors bet rapid medical advances will bring the Covid outbreak to an earlier end than feared, paving the way for a swift economic rebound next year as business activity returns closer to normal and tough government restrictions are relaxed.
Mohit Kumar of Jefferies reckons the battle for the Senate could be worth $2tn in potential stimulus measures:
In terms of market impact, a clear result should be positive for risk sentiment, irrespective of a Biden or Trump win.
From a fiscal stimulus perspective, as we have argued before, the Senate elections are as important, if not more, than a Presidential one. A ‘Blue Wave’ with Biden as the President and Democrats having control of both the House and the Senate would see a fiscal stimulus of over $3trn.
Stock markets in the US and Europe fell sharply oas investors focused on signs that rich countries’ efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic were foundering.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index lost 1.8% after heavy falls in German blue-chip stocks. In the US the Dow Jones industrial average closed 2.3% down at 27685.38, while the benchmark S&P 500 fell 1.9% to 3400.97.
The economic collapse in Britain during the second quarter of 2020 was the most brutal on record. Unemployment is forecast by the Bank of England to soar to 2.5m by Christmas. The Brexit cliff edge approaches. Yet in the City, the FTSE 100 has been on the up.
Never has the disconnect between financial trading and economic fundamentals appeared so extreme. What explains surging asset prices (the FTSE jumped 2% on the same day it was revealed the economy had slumped by 20%) when the outlook for many workers is so grim?
S&P edges towards all-time record with oil prices and hospitality stocks rising as investor optimism rebounds
US stock markets moved closer to record highs on Tuesday after investors bet on a fresh round of government spending to lift the economy and counter the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500, seen as the broadest measure of US investor sentiment, raced to a 10-point gain by mid afternoon to leave it just 16 points short of the all-time high reached in February.
Young’s pub chain intends to open all of its 276 sites by the 3 August, and is hopeful the business can “bounce back” once its pubs are allowed to reopen, but expects trading to be “materially below average” for the rest of the year.
Another interesting detail from the SMMT data: Tesla’s Model 3 was the most popular car during May.
In total the coronavirus government support for UK workers has come to £21.8bn, if you add together the money paid for furloughed employees and income support for self-employed workers.
More than 10m British workers have been given some form of income support, if furlough numbers are added to those who have claimed self-employed support*.
More struggles for the British property sector:
British Land, which owns shopping centres including Sheffield’s Meadowhall and Drake Circus in Plymouth, has written down the value of its retail portfolio by more than a quarter due to the impact of the coronavirus.
Shares have soared on the world’s stock markets after investors shrugged off a deep slump in the US economy and pinned their hopes on a possible breakthrough in treatment for Covid-19.
Wall Street has opened higher, despite the prospect of a sickening slump in growth this quarter.
The Dow Jones industrial average has gained 109 points, or 0.46%, to 23,884 as a new week’s trading begins.
Alexandra Scaggs of Barrons has spotted that General Motors’ banks pushed it to suspend its dividend (as flagged earlier).
so GM suspended its dividend & share buybacks
one interesting point that's not in the headlines: Banks wanted that as a condition for extending more credit to the company https://t.co/RWCWF4tvea
to me the press release reads like "hey we decided to stop doing these things"
and the filing reads like "our lenders asked us to stop doing these things before they would extend the repayment date on one of our loans" pic.twitter.com/wH5R4aCqDF