Markets rallied this morning on news of a 100bn (£81bn) eurogroup-backed bailout for Spain, announced over the weekend. But sceptics were already scoffing at what was seen as a short-term boon given continued underlying weaknesses.
The first cut to the Chinese one-year benchmark lending and deposit rates since December 2008 has provoked a largely positive response from investment commentators, who reasoned that it signifies the authorities are serious about supporting the economy.
The Bric countries are trading at an average discount of 30%, making now a good time to accumulate positions in the countries, according to HSBC Asset Management.
Research from S&P Capital IQ shows European equity managers increasing their fund concentration as markets tumble and redemptions rise.
Rating agency Moody’s downgraded the debt of 16 Spanish banks last night as it questioned the government’s ability to support its lenders in the face of its own escalating borrowing costs.
The Chinese are concerned about problems in the eurozone because if the region experiences a severe recession local authorities in China will have to take aggressive steps to inflate their own economy, a senior S&P economist has said.
The solid start to the first quarter this year has reminded investors that we saw the same in 2011 so they are now nervously looking for ways to navigate their way through the rest of the year.
The UK’s GDP shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics, sending the economy back into a recession.
Equity funds saw their largest redemptions in 2012 so far, as the risk-off sentiment returned amid uncertainty about global growth last week.
Fears of a China hard landing are overblown, despite news the world’s second-largest economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in Q1, according Fidelity’s Trevor Greetham.
The rise in oil prices this year is similar to the oil price hike of Q1 2011 – so will the end economic result be the same as well?
The UK’s AAA rating has been put on negative watch by Fitch, which is the second of the ‘big three’ ratings agencies to put the top-notch credit score in doubt after Moody’s did so back in February.
