Donald Trump’s brinkmanship and stop-start approach to tariffs rattle investors
The risk that the US economy will enter recession this year is rising, according to economists, as Donald Trump’s chaotic approach to tariffs continued to hit markets.
Shares on Wall Street fell sharply on Monday as investors bet the president’s unpredictable tariff trade war and handling of the economy would hit growth, amid a recent plunge in business and consumer confidence.
Continue reading...Berlin’s ‘big bazooka’ proposal sends industrial stocks surging but fiscal sea change also hikes borrowing costs
European financial markets have rallied sharply and German borrowing costs have soared after the country’s prospective leaders announced a historic deal to loosen its “debt brake” rule to boost spending on defence.
The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year German government bonds rose by about 25 basis points to 3.08% in its biggest daily increase since October 1998.
Continue reading...Group may move primary listing to New York or elsewhere – to get ‘optimal valuation’ – in fresh blow to UK market
Glencore is considering moving its primary share listing away from London, in what would be a fresh blow to the UK’s blue-chip stock exchange following a series of departures.
The chief executive of the mining group said it was studying whether a move would boost its shares – with New York top of the list of potential destinations.
Continue reading...Analysts say measures so far have been less than feared but traders still cautious as uncertainty about US policy ‘has basically exploded’
Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday as traders kept a nervous eye on Donald Trump’s next moves after he signed off on 25% tariffs for steel and aluminium imports, having warned of more measures to come.
The president has lived up to his campaign pledges to resume his hardball trade diplomacy to extract concessions on a range of issues, including commerce, immigration and drug trafficking.
Continue reading...European futures also down more than 3% after Trump indicates tariffs will ‘definitely happen’ in EU countries
Asian sharemarkets tumbled in early trade on Monday after the Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China sparked fears of an escalating global trade war.
Taiwan’s Taiex fell 4.4% at the open, led by a more than 6% plunge in semiconductor heavyweight TSMC. Japan’s Topix index was down as much as 2.3% and Korea’s Kospi fell as much as 2.4%, led by major exporters with exposure to global markets, including Canada and Mexico such as electronics manufacturers Samsung and LG, and automaker Kia. China’s sharemarkets remain closed for the lunar new year holidays.
Continue reading...Traders even cashed out of gold, a historical safe haven, in push to protect against what could turn into wave of margin calls
The Australian dollar plunged to pandemic-era lows, the ASX fell and crypto prices were smashed as investors scrambled on Monday to prepare for a global trade war sparked by Donald Trump’s new tariff regime.
Traders even cashed out of gold, a historical safe haven, in a push to raise cash reserves to protect against what could turn into a wave of margin calls.
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Continue reading...Tentative rise comes after emergence of cheaper Chinese rival wiped $1tn off the value of leading US tech companies
US tech stocks tentatively recovered on Tuesday after Donald Trump described the launch of a chatbot by China’s DeepSeek as a “wake-up call” for Silicon Valley in the global race to dominate artificial intelligence.
The emergence of DeepSeek, which has built its R1 model chatbot at a fraction of the cost of competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, wiped $1tn (£800bn) in value from the leading US tech index on Monday.
Continue reading...Donald Trump says China’s DeepSeek is a ‘wake-up call’ for American AI firms
Donald Trump has suggested that Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok and that he would like to see a bidding war over the app.
When asked if Microsoft was in talks to buy the app, the US president said “I would say yes”, adding “A lot of interest in TikTok. There’s great interest in TikTok.”
Continue reading...Yuan and Chinese stocks fall despite suggestion of lower tariff than president mentioned during campaign
Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese-made goods arriving in the US from as early as 1 February, adding that he was also considering levies on imports from the EU.
Ordering an investigation into US-China trade on his second day in office, Trump said any penalties on Chinese goods would be “based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada”.
Continue reading...S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite largely unmoved as it opened for trading for first time after inauguration
Financial markets largely shrugged after Donald Trump outlined plans to impose punitive tariffs on Mexico and Canada as soon as next month while signing scores of executive orders on his first day in office.
The US president told reporters in the White House Oval Office he was thinking about introducing 25% US tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada as soon as 1 February.
Continue reading...Bitcoin rises by 4% past $109,000, reversing earlier losses; Donald Trump meme coin price tanks after wife Melania also launches token
The UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will travel to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos this week in the hope of convincing some of the world’s largest companies to invest, with allies saying she will use spending cuts rather than further tax increases to meet her own fiscal rules.
At the same time, the Treasury is considering a push to cut the benefits bill, in a move that is causing nervousness among Labour MPs.
Continue reading...Nearly every share on index rose after fall in value of pound helped multinationals listed in London
The UK’s blue-chip stock index has hit a record high, as hopes of interest rate cuts this year drove down government borrowing costs.
Almost every share on the FTSE 100 rose on Friday, the fall in the value of the pound bolstering multinationals listed in London and propelling the index above 8,500 points for the first time.
Continue reading...The number of listed companies fleeing can’t be ignored – cutting or abolishing the tax could revive the capital market
Last year was another depressing one for departures from the London stock market. Back in January, it was Flutter heading for the exit. The owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet got itself a secondary listing in the US and said it would quickly convert it into the primary one, which it did in May.
When December arrived, we were still on the same theme. Ashtead Group, the £27bn construction rental company that has been listed in London since 1986, announced plans to shift its primary listing to New York. Other escapers include Just Eat Takeaway, which is off to Amsterdam.
Continue reading...Company’s share price has risen twentyfold after it changed its strategy to become first ‘bitcoin treasury company’
In the summer of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic upended economies around the world, an obscure US software firm decided to diversify. MicroStrategy, whose head office is situated next to a shopping mall and metro station in Tysons Corner, Virginia, had decided the steady business of “software as a service” was not racy enough.
Instead, it would branch out by investing up to $250m in alternative assets – “stocks, bonds, commodities such as gold, digital assets such as bitcoin or other asset types”.
Continue reading...Hedge fund with £197m stake leads push to prioritise Sydney exchange as FTSE 100 firm outlines ambitious copper production targets
An activist investor in Rio Tinto has demanded the miner scrap its primary London listing and focus on Australia, as the FTSE 100 firm outlined its long-term investment strategy.
Palliser Capital called on the metals and minerals firm to drop its “outdated” dual listing structure across the London and Sydney financial markets.
Continue reading...Lower sales in UK and North America after mild weather and discounting by rivals offset by 3.5% rise in Europe
Mild weather and discounting by rivals hit sales at JD Sports in October, as the trainers and fashion retailer said profits will be at the lower end of expectations.
The gloomy update sparked a sell-off among investors, sending shares down 14% and wiping about £800m off the value of the FTSE 100 company, which owns the JD chain as well as outdoor wear retailers Millets and Blacks in the UK and chains in the US and mainland Europe. Shares in its rival, the Sports Direct owner Frasers Group, also fell, by 2.5%.
Continue reading...Investors dash to safe-haven currencies after Putin updates nuclear doctrine and Ukraine fires missiles into Russia
Global stock markets fell and bond prices have jumped after reports that Ukraine had fired a US-made long-range missile into Russia for the first time and Vladimir Putin approved changes to Moscow’s nuclear doctrine.
Investors dashed into safe-haven currencies such as the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc on Tuesday, after the RBC-Ukraine news outlet reported that Kyiv had carried out its first strike on Russian territory using western-supplied missiles.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
Begbies Traynor also reveals that their employment costs are expected to rise by £1.25m due to the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions.
The company is “reviewing options to mitigate the impact where possible”.
“Additional headwinds for UK business from increased employment costs and the prospect of higher for longer interest rates are likely to extend the period of elevated insolvency levels, increasing the need for advice and support from our insolvency and business recovery professionals.”
“We have made a very good start to the year with double digit growth in revenue and profits driven by positive momentum across the group. This gives us confidence that we will deliver market expectations for the year as a whole.
Continue reading...Dollar up and renewable energy stocks down, while shares in president-elect’s media business rise by more than a third
Wall Street and bitcoin rallied to fresh record highs and the dollar soared after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, while renewable energy stocks fell.
Trump was declared the winner on Wednesday morning after securing the 270 electoral votes needed to take the presidency.
Continue reading...UHY Hacker Young says 92 companies have delisted and only 10 floated on junior stock market in past year
The UK’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) has shrunk to its smallest size in 23 years as business owners and investors anticipate an abolition of inheritance tax relief in the budget this week.
The accountancy group UHY Hacker Young calculated that 92 companies have delisted from Aim, London’s junior stock market, in the past year, reducing the total number of companies on Aim to 695.
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