U.K. consumer confidence fell to the lowest in almost four years.
U.K. consumer confidence fell to the lowest in almost four years in March as the housing-market downturn worsened, and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson said the economy is heading for a recession.
26th Aug - Awaiting the bail out terms
Written by James Male
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
UK markets were closed yesterday however US equities saw some selling pressure although on fairly low volume. The financials particularly, were under pressure although the bail out twins, Fannie and Freddie were up presumably at least in part owing to short covering. The nationalization of these failed institutions is a near certainty so any value attributed to remaining equity over zero looks pricy to me.
The BBA are investigating the fixing of the LIBOR fixing and are threatening to ban banks from contributing if they have been found to have not provided rates that accurately reflect their borrowing costs.
Economic growth in the U.S. will come to a halt in the first six months of 2008 as consumer spending contracts rapidly.The world's largest economy will not expand at all from January through June, according to the median estimate of 62 economists surveyed by Bloomberg from April 2 to April 8. A majority now projects the U.S. is, or will soon be, in a recession.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said late Thursday it is cutting 1,800 jobs, or about 4% of its worldwide workforce. "It has become clear that we need to take additional steps beyond our merger synergies to reduce expenses, given the current weakness in the global economy," said Robert Kelly, Bank of New York Mellon chairman and chief executive, in a statement. "We will take advantage of natural turnover to lessen the impact on existing staff."
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More than a decade of growth has been wiped from US stocks after mounting fears over the health of the economy and financial system pushed the market to levels not seen since 1997.
SAN FRANCSICO (MarketWatch) -- Moody's Investors Service said late Thursday that it lowered the ratings outlook on Nordstrom Inc.'s to negative from stable because of a drop in third-quarter same-store sales. Moody's has a Baa1 senior unsecured rating and a Prime-2 commercial paper rating on Nordstrom.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
Demand for U.S. Treasury bonds remained robust Thursday, with the yield on the benchmark note falling to an all-time low, as investors continue to flock to the safety of government debt.
I was thinking about the financial mess the other day and I came up with this theory. I'm wary of it because it's comforting, even uplifting, and by definition any economic supposition that has a happy ending is suspect. So with that caveat here goes:
Bank stocks plunged again Thursday with some of the biggest names in the industry falling to their lowest levels in more than a decade. It's anybody guess when the selloff will end.
General Motors has a market capitalization of just $2.1 billion. The stock, which now trades for a little more than $3.50 a share, hit a 70-year low on Thursday.
Oil prices continued to plunge Thursday, dropping below $50 a barrel as growing concern about the economy pointed to weak demand for energy. The price marked the lowest level in three-and-a-half years.
LONDON (Reuters) - DSG and Marks & Spencer , are tipped to be among the most vulnerable retailers this Christmas as stores begin the battle for the consumer purse.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Fidelity International's Anthony Bolton, one of Britain's top performing fund managers, said on Thursday financial and consumer stocks may be the first to recover after taking hard action against the credit crisis.
LONDON (Reuters) - The recession is likely to last more than a year as growth falls off a cliff despite the Bank of England continuing to hack away at interest rates as inflation comes down, according to a Reuters poll.
LONDON (Reuters) - Retailers are banking on sustained consumer spending in the world's major fashion capitals of London, New York and Hong Kong, where prime retail property rents continue to rise despite the economic downturn.
FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With recession now a reality in major economies from Japan to Germany, policymakers are starting to fret about the chance of a phenomenon many see as even more deadly: deflation.
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - As the financial crisis hit a climax in Belgium with the split-up of its largest bank Fortis in October, new clients were rushing to a small, "ecologically correct" bank.
