Category Archives: Stock markets

Wall Street shrugs off Trump after he vows Mexico and Canada tariffs

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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.

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Bitcoin hits new record high, dollar dips ahead of Trump inauguration – business live

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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.

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FTSE 100 hits record as interest rate hopes push down UK borrowing costs

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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.

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It’s time to get serious about stamp duty on shares, a terrible advert for London

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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.

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‘Preying on investors’: how software firm MicroStrategy’s big bet on bitcoin went stratospheric

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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”.

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Rio Tinto investor urges mining giant to drop primary London listing

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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.

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JD Sports shares slump 14% after profit warning

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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%.

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Global stock markets fall and bonds jump as fears grow over Ukraine war

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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.

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Higher employment costs and interest rates to push UK firms into financial trouble; Trump tariffs would ‘hit growth’ – business live

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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.

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Wall Street and bitcoin soar to record highs as Trump wins US election

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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.

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London’s Aim shrinks to smallest since 2001 amid fears of tax relief changes

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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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Chinese stocks suffer worst fall in 27 years over growth concerns

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Investors disappointed after hoped-for policy plans by Beijing to stimulate economy failed to materialise

Chinese stocks have suffered their worst fall in 27 years after efforts by Beijing to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy disappointed investors.

Stock markets in Asia fell sharply after China’s top economic planning authority failed to announce further measures to improve flagging growth.

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Stock markets hit record highs after news of a fall in US inflation

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S&P 500 index of major US companies registers near 100% gain on year ago amid expectation of interest rate cuts

A fall in US inflation expected to pave the way for further cuts in interest rates pushed stock markets to record highs on Friday.

Ending a week of gains that began when the Chinese authorities approved a huge economic stimulus package, the S&P 500 index of major US companies soared above 5,750 to register a near 100% gain on a year ago.

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Planned Shein IPO needs closer scrutiny, says former Labour minister

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Trade committee head Liam Byrne wants checks on firm’s possible supply chain links to forced labour

A former minister has called on the government to closely scrutinise Shein for possible links to forced working as the China-founded fast-fashion retailer prepares for a stock market listing in London.

Liam Byrne, the Labour MP who heads parliament’s business and trade committee, said the UK should introduce new legislation to increase scrutiny of supply chains that may include products made in the Xinjiang region of north-western China.

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Mario Draghi warns EU at risk without ‘new industrial strategy’ and €800bn a year investment boost – business live

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‘For the first time since the cold war we must genuinely fear for our self-preservation,’ warns former ECB chief as he presents new report on European competitiveness

We also have worrying signs that the US jobs market is cooling.

The latest UK Report on Jobs from KPMG and REC shows that the UK labour market softened in August, with vacancies falling for both permanent and temporary staff.

“Recent Government warnings that the UK’s economy may weaken further before improving add to the overall sense of uncertainty, affecting recruitment plans. Firms holding back from hiring led to a sharp contraction in the number of people placed into permanent roles in August amid continued decline in demand, extending the downturn in the UK’s labour market.

“The news that while salaries rose last month it was at the weakest rate since March could help make the case for more rate cuts when the [Bank of England’s] Monetary Policy Committee meets to decide the future path of interest rates.

This reflects ongoing concerns in the job market, including falling job vacancies and more people claiming unemployment-related benefits, which reached its highest level since December 2021 according to the Office for National Statistics.

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Rolls-Royce is FTSE 100’s biggest faller as Cathay Pacific inspects A350 fleet

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Shares in engineering firm slide as airline cancels flights after finding engine component failure on aircraft

Shares in Rolls-Royce, the leading British engineering company, were the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 on Monday after Cathay Pacific Airways identified an engine component failure on an aircraft and began inspecting its entire Airbus A350 fleet.

The Hong Kong-based airline, which has cancelled 24 return flights so far while it performs the “precautionary” checks, said a number of aircraft would be out of service for several days. Shares in Rolls-Royce closed down 6%.

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway hits $1tn valuation on Wall Street

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Vast conglomerate becomes the first non-tech company to hit the major stock market milestone

The market value of Berkshire Hathaway surpassed $1tn on Wednesday, reflecting investor confidence in the conglomerate that Warren Buffett built over nearly six decades into what many consider a proxy for the American economy.

Berkshire joined six other companies, mainly from the technology sector, above $1trn: Apple, Nvidia , Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Amazon.com and Facebook parent Meta Platforms.

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Wall Street banker bonuses forecast to rise 35% this year

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Surge caused by rebound in market activity very likely to influence payouts for European outposts of banks

Bonuses for Wall Street’s investment bankers are forecast to jump as much as 35% this year – although experts have warned that payouts could be knocked by stock market volatility and an economic slowdown in the US.

Fresh predictions suggest that staff across a range of financial firms – including hedge funds, asset managers and investment banks – will see payouts rise for the first time in two years. It follows a rebound in business confidence and market activity, with companies more willing to take risks amid easing inflation that has started to translate into lower borrowing costs.

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Global markets partly recover but analysts fear ‘we’re not out of woods’

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Shares on Wall Street and in Asia and Europe start to recover after Monday’s rout

Shares on Wall Street rose and many Asian and European markets staged a recovery after this week’s global stock market rout, but analysts warned: “We might not be out of the woods.”

The FTSE 100 index in London rose 18 points, or 0.2%, on Tuesday to close at 8,026.69, after losing 166 points, or 2%, on Monday, its biggest one-day points drop in more than a year.

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Japanese stocks soar after massive sell-off shook global markets

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Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closes more than 10% up with other Asia markets rebounding on Tuesday

Japanese stocks soared more than 10% on Tuesday, a day after experiencing their biggest fall in 37 years, setting markets tumbling in Europe and on Wall Street.

Other markets in Asia also appeared to settle somewhat after the rollercoaster ride that started the week.

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