Author: Press Room

2/2 © Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve building in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts 2/2 (Reuters) – Investors are torn over when global interest rates are likely to start falling, which is weighing on the dollar at a seasonally tricky time of year, meaning upcoming inflation data will be more important than ever, while China mulls its growth outlook. World leaders gather in Dubai for a summit on climate change, but any agreement on how to deal with it or pay to tackle it seems a distant prospect. Here’s your week ahead in world markets from Lewis…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Dutch far-right politician and leader of the PVV party, Geert Wilders gestures as he meets with members of his party at the Dutch Parliament, after the Dutch parliamentary elections, in The Hague, Netherlands November 23, 2023. REUTERS/Yves He By Toby Sterling and Bart H. Meijer AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch party leaders meet on Friday for the first time since anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders won Wednesday’s elections to begin the difficult and lengthy process of building a coalition. Beating all predictions, Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) won 37 seats out of 150, well ahead of 25 for a…

© Reuters. Gold’s attempt to stay above the coveted $2000 mark faltered today as trading volumes remained thin due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The precious metal, often sought after as a safe haven, showed a brief rise in early trading but faced challenges in sustaining gains above this psychological threshold. The metal’s inability to hold its ground comes against the backdrop of an appreciating dollar, which gained strength following unexpected jobless claims data released on Wednesday. These figures suggested a more robust US labor market than anticipated, diminishing the allure of gold as a hedge against economic uncertainty. Investors are…

Oli Scarff/Getty Images News British bank Barclays (NYSE:BCS) is anticipating significant job cuts, which could involve cutting as many as 2,000 jobs in an effort to reduce costs by £1 billion, or $1.25 billion, according to a Reuters report. The decision is a result of the bank’s recent financial performance, with staff costs reaching £2 billion. Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan has said that the bank is planning to cut expenses by a total of a billion pounds in the coming days, which would account for approximately 7% of its underlying annual operating expenses of £15 billion in 2022. The impact…

© Reuters In the wake of mixed financial signals and market anticipation, the currency pair remains steady in early Asian trading today, with traders expressing uncertainty over the future of Federal Reserve rate hikes. This sentiment has led to the dollar hovering around 0.8840 against the Swiss Franc, which is facing its own pressure as the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) reserve levels have fallen to a seven-year low. The SNB’s reserves have significantly decreased to CHF 657 billion, marking a strategic decline from last year’s peak of CHF 950 billion (CHF1 = USD1.1314). This drop raises concerns about the potential…

ATHENS, GREECE – MAY 20: Greek riot police stand in formation at the Greek Parliament on May 20, … [+] 2010 in Athens, Greece. 25,000 people marched through central Athens to Parliament to protest the austerity cuts brought in due to the crippling debt the country is under. Unions called for the strike as the believe the measures hurt the poor and working class. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)Getty Images Christmas has come early for readers of this column! I want to give you a heads up that my programme ‘Waking up to World Debt’ will air on the BBC…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Nissan will lead a £2bn investment in its Sunderland car plant to make two new electric models at the site and build a third UK battery factory, the Japanese carmaker said on Friday.The company said it would invest up to £1.12bn to manufacture electric replacements for the Qashqai and Juke models, which it currently builds alongside the electric Leaf in the North East facility. Its battery supplier, Chinese group Envision, is expected to contribute the rest of the investment.Envision owns AESC, which…

© Reuters. European Central Bank policymaker and Governor of the Austrian National Bank Robert Holzmann addresses the media in Vienna, Austria, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo VIENNA (Reuters) – European Central Bank policymakers should discuss at their meeting next month whether to wind down bond reinvestments under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme early, Austrian Governor Robert Holzmann said in remarks published on Friday. “My suggestion would be to reduce reinvestments step by step as of March,” Holzmann told Austrian newspaper Die Presse. Those reinvestments are slated to run until the end of 2024 but some policymakers have made the…

© Reuters. LONDON – Legal & General Group (LON:) plc (L&G) has completed a landmark £4.8 billion full buy-in with the Boots Pension Scheme today, marking the largest single UK pension risk transfer by premium size. This transaction ensures the financial security of all 53,000 scheme members and represents a significant milestone in the scheme’s de-risking journey that began in 2001. The deal, which has been in the making for over two decades of investment management services provided by L&G to the Scheme, was facilitated by strategic advisors and Aon (NYSE:), with legal counsel from Baker McKenzie, Sackers, Slaughter and…

© Reuters The energy sector is facing heightened uncertainty as disagreements among OPEC members over production quotas have led to a postponed meeting, stirring unease among oil traders. The internal conflict within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been a key factor in the recent struggle of Oil prices to surpass the critical technical resistance level of the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), which currently lies in the $78-$74 range. Saudi Arabia has been vocal in its push for widespread production cuts across OPEC nations to stabilize prices, which they argue are being undermined by increased output…