London's FTSE 100 continues to recover on the back of financials and corporate earnings
London stock markets rose broadly for the second consecutive session on Wednesday. Gains in financial stocks, and positive corporate earnings helped the indexes recover most of their losses earlier this week. The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended the day 1.8% higher, its highest showing in over four months. Meanwhile, the mid-cap FTSE 250 closed 1% up. Gains were made as the global appetite for risk improved following the Bank of Japan's unexpected reluctance to raise rates.
Brent, WTI Fall as Coronavirus Spreads
Brent fell by 10% on Monday, and U.S. crude to below $30, as emergency rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve and its global counterparts failed to tame markets and China's factory output plunged at the sharpest pace in 30 years amid the spread of coronavirus.Brent crude was down $3.58, or 10.6%, to $30.27 a barrel by 1231 GMT. The front-month price had risen $1 earlier in the session.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $29.24…
Oil up 3% on Hopes of OPEC Cut
Oil prices jumped more than 3% on Monday, reversing an earlier fall to multi-year lows as hopes of a deeper cut in output by OPEC and stimulus from central banks countered worries about damage to demand from the coronavirus outbreak.Brent crude was at $51.91 a barrel, up $1.71 or 3.4%, by 0925 GMT, having earlier hit its lowest since July 2017 at $48.40.Across the Atlantic, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude hit a 14-month low of $43.32 before recovering to $46.15…
WFW Advises on Race Bank Wind Farm Deal
Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), an international law firm based in London, said that it has advised Race Bank Wind Farm Limited on its USD 608 million sale of transmission system assets relating to the 573 MW Race Bank offshore wind farm to Diamond Transmission Partners.Race Bank is a joint venture owned by Ørsted (50%), Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (25%), a fund established by Sumitomo Corporation…
JERA Joins Taiwan, UK Offshore Wind Projects
Japanese energy group JERA joined in the Formosa 1 offshore wind power project in Taiwan and Gunfleet Sands offshore wind power project in the U.K.JERA has entered into an agreement with Macquarie Capital and Swancor to acquire a combined 32.5% equity interest in the Formosa 1 offshore wind power project, located off the north-western coast of Taiwan. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.The 128MW Formosa 1 project represents Taiwan’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm.
Innogy Sells Stake in $2.6 Bln Offshore Wind Project
German energy group Innogy will sell a 41 percent stake in its 2 billion pound ($2.6 billion) offshore wind farm Triton Knoll to Japan's Electric Power Development Co and Kansai Electric Power Co, it said on Monday.The move helps Innogy secure funding for the project, which will result in one of Europe's largest offshore wind farms, and gives the Japanese firms a stake in a regulated energy infrastructure asset on the continent.Electric Power Development Co…
Oil Hits Three-Week Low on Weak U.S. Stock Draw
Brent crude futures down 9 pct in one week; WTI crude futures fall to lowest in a month. Oil prices hit their lowest in more than three weeks on Thursday, the sixth straight day of losses and longest bearish run since early 2016, as U.S. crude stocks fell less than expected and concerns over Britain's future in the EU weighed. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, have slipped 9 percent in just five sessions after touching an eight-month high of nearly $53 a barrel a week ago.
Crude Prices Ease after Hitting 2016 Highs
Traders take profits after steep April Brent, WTI rallies; falling U.S. production, weak dollar seen as supports. Oil futures slid after setting a 2016 high on Thursday as traders locked in profits, though analysts said supply disruptions, strong investor appetite and a weakening dollar could push prices higher soon. Brent crude futures were trading at $47.05 per barrel at 1129 GMT, down 13 cents from their last settlement and off an earlier high of $47.47. U.S.
Oil, Stocks Climb as Investors Look to Fed
Better-than-expected BP earnings lift European stocks; oil prices recover on weaker dollar, new cash. World stocks climbed for the first time in four days on Tuesday and a weaker dollar helped oil prices gain too, as investors fine-tuned their expectations for monetary policy meetings in the United States and Japan. European shares also benefited from a less-bad-than-expected 80 percent first quarter profit fall and an unchanged dividend from BP, as well as encouraging results from UPM .
Yen Drops on Rate Cut Talk; Oil Climbs
The U.S. dollar rose to a three week high against the yen on Friday, on a report of likely further monetary policy easing from the Bank of Japan, while a rise in crude oil prices was offset by poor technology sector earnings, leaving Wall Street stocks steady. The dollar rose more than 2.0 percent against the yen to 111.80 yen, its highest level since April 1 after a media report said the BOJ is considering expanding its negative rate policy to bank loans and could cut rates further.
Doha Deal Failure Knocks Commodity Currencies
Canadian, Australian dollars slip as oil falls; Yen hits three-year high vs euro on risk aversion. Commodity currencies slipped on Monday while the safe-haven yen gained ground after major crude exporters failed to agree on an output freeze, sending oil prices tumbling once again. A plan to cap production at current levels fell apart on Sunday at a meeting in Doha after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join in…
Crude Drops; shares Flat with Eyes on Central Banks
Brent crude drops below $40 a barrel. A gauge of stocks across the globe ticked up on Monday, with Wall Street buoyed by consumer stocks and Europe up on a positive view of the auto industry. Oil prices fell as Iran dashed hopes of a coordinated production freeze any time soon, returning the focus to the crude supply glut that has sent prices crashing. Attention switches this week to policy decisions from the Bank of Japan (BOJ), the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, among others.
Oil Down, but Stocks Holding Up
Oil prices give up gains, fall 3 percent; Focus turns to Fed meetings. Oil prices tumbled 3 percent on Monday and dragged the dollar down, but world stocks clung onto gains in a sign of stabilisation after a horrendous start to the year. Crude oil prices fell 3 percent as Iraq announced record-high oil production feeding into a heavily over supplied market, wiping out much of the gains made in one of the biggest-ever daily rallies last Friday.
Stocks, Oil Rally; Cold Snap Supports Energy Demand
Oil prices and world stock markets jumped on Friday, providing some relief to bruised investors as frigid weather across the United States and Europe boosted energy demand. Brent crude oil, which tumbled in recent weeks on worries about oversupply, settled 10 percent higher and above $32 a barrel in one of the biggest daily rallies ever. Traders cashing in short positions lifted prices along with the higher short-term demand. The benchmark S&P 500 U.S.
Poor Commodities: Assets Without a Central Bank
Commodity investors stung by the four-year bear market made one simple mistake: investing in an asset class not backed by a central bank. Whereas equities and bonds have benefited from very meaningful support, direct and indirect, from central bank asset-purchase programs, commodities have not. That may or may not be good policy; certainly you can argue that the current downdraft in commodities prices reflects a singular lack of inflation risk in the global economy.
Japan: Oil Price Dip Benefits Economy
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday that falling oil prices are positive for the country's economy as they boost corporate revenues and households' disposable income. "The Bank of Japan is implementing bold monetary easing to achieve its 2 percent inflation target. It's up to the BOJ to decide on specific monetary means to achieve this," Abe told a news conference. Slumping oil prices have nudged annual core consumer inflation to 0.2 percent in January…
BOJ: Weak Oil Prices Good for Global Economy
The recent slide in global oil prices is a benefit for the world economy and could lead to some upgrades of economic forecasts, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday. "For the world economy, without a doubt, weaker oil prices are a plus," Kuroda told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Istanbul. (Reporting by David Dolan
Oil Above $50 as Investors Consolidate
Global business growth hits lowest level in a year; U.S. shale oil, OPEC production remain high. Brent crude oil recovered slightly after falling below $50 a barrel for the first time since May 2009 on Wednesday, as traders re-assessed their books after a sharp slide since the start of the year on a growing supply glut and weak global demand. In choppy trade, benchmark Brent crude futures were down 25 cents at $50.85 by 1156 GMT, having fallen as low as $49.66, a level last seen in May 2009.
Central Banks React Differently to Oil Drop
The world's major central banks are scrambling to work through the implications of the near halving of the price of oil in the second half of 2014, and they are coming up with very different conclusions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, policymakers looking at robust economic recoveries such as in the United States and Britain are focused on the likely boost to growth and consumption from markedly lower energy prices and the later upward impact that should have on inflation.
World Market Shockwaves From Oil Price Epicentre
The financial turmoil engulfing Russia is a symptom of a wider world markets quake that has its epicentre in oil's collapse and Western disinflation but is now rippling far and wide across investors' portfolios. Not unlike other bouts of global financial contagion in the late 1990s and again in 2008-09, the growing interdependency of world finance means seismic activity in one area can often lead to a chain reaction of seemingly random events.
