Chinese markets rose on Thursday, bringing relief from the frenzied selling that had characterised markets over the past few days and hope that the authorities increasingly heavy-handed measures to stop the rout had finally begun to work.
Consensus is that George Osborne’s first majority budget was a radical one, announcing, among other things new dividend allowances, the abolishment of ‘non-dom’ status and £12bn in welfare cuts. For business, however, it seems it was something of a mixed bag.
The continuing fall in China’s stock market puts the country’s entire financial system and structural reform agenda at risk, according to Axa Investment Managers and Schroders.
Most European markets were trading lower (somewhere between 1 and 2%) in early trade on Monday, after Greece’s historic no vote in Sunday’s austerity referendum.
The Confederation of British Industry has said expectations are buoyant among British businesses, despite a slight slowing of economic growth in June.
With Central bank liquidity and geopolitics continuing to have undue sway over asset prices it is no surprise to see a number of single country funds bringing up the rear in the race for performance over the first half of the year – especially their big weighting in commodities.
The launch of the ECB’s bond-buying programme has led to a convergence in net inflows into investment grade bonds and European equities, an analysis of recent Morningstar fund flows data shows.
As emerging markets continue to splinter it is time to take an active position, says Wells Fargo’s Anthony Cragg. Right now his focus is on China, where he believes the greatest EM opportunities lie.
The gender imbalance in UK financial services does not need to be addressed, according to the majority of industry professionals responding to a new study.
China’s inclusion in the MSCI emerging market indices is a matter of when, not if, and the resulting capital inflows will have substantial impact on Hong Kong’s market, said Helen Zhu, Blackrock’s head of China equities.
Fitch Ratings has said a gradual hike in the United States’ base interest rate would likely result in lower profits and slower growth, due to increased borrowing costs for US companies.
The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates on hold in its latest meeting as expected, and the tone of Chair Janet Yellen’s comments indicated that when it comes the rise will be less than was anticipated.
