The pound gained ground against the US dollar in early European trading on Wednesday, rising 0.4% to $1.2622. The uptick came as the currency rebounded from steep losses incurred late the previous day, following remarks from US Federal Reserve officials that sent the dollar surging. The Fed’s decision to remove two expected rate cuts from next year’s projections triggered the dollar’s climb. The Fed’s move, which included a 25-basis-point interest rate hike, also saw policymakers adjust their 2024 rate expectations. They now predict only a 50bps reduction in borrowing costs next year — half the amount originally forecast in September.…
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Image source: Getty Images The last time I could pick up Glencore (LSE: GLEN) shares for 360p was back in December 2021. From its Covid-lows in March 2020, its share price surged over 400%, topping out at 575p in January 2023. Since then, it has been on something of a roller-coaster ride, but the trend has most definitely been downward. As an investor who has been steadily increasing my position in the company over the last four years, I have certainly lived the highs and the lows of such volatility. But I have found that when investing in mining businesses,…
By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) – U.S. and Arab mediators are working round-the-clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, sources close to the talks said, while in the Gaza Strip medics said Israeli strikes had killed 13 Palestinians on Thursday. The mediators, at talks in Egypt and Qatar, seek to forge a deal to pause the 14-month-old war in the Hamas-ruled enclave that would include a release of hostages seized from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, along with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Mediators had managed to narrow some gaps on previous sticking points but differences…
gold bitcoin etf Spot bitcoin ETFs, on the market for less than a year, are on the cusp of overtaking gold exchange-traded funds in terms of assets held as investors bet billions on bitcoin’s surging price. The 36 spot bitcoin ETFs tracked by etf.com hold around $120.5 billion while gold ETFs hold $125.7 billion, as of market close on Dec. 17. Investors have poured $60 billion into spot bitcoin ETFs since their Jan. 11 debut, with huge flows following the Nov. 5 election of crypto-friendly Donald Trump. Bitcoin itself has more than doubled this year, pushing the values of those funds higher. At…
The stock sell-off on Wall Street was “healthy,” as the Federal Reserve’s cautionary projection on future rate cuts gives investors a “reality check,” according to Jeremy Siegel, professor emeritus of finance at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point at its last meeting of the year, taking its overnight borrowing rate to a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee indicated it probably will only lower rates twice more in 2025, fewer than the four cuts indicated in its September forecast.All three major indexes on Wall…
Image source: Getty Images In 2025 I’ll be doing pretty much the same as I’ve been doing this year, looking around for cheap shares to add to my portfolio. I’m intrigued by these two. They’re cheaper than I would have expected. Lloyds of London insurer Beazley (LSE: BEZ) baffles me. As a rule, shares usually look cheap after falling in value. But the Beazley share price has had a blockbuster 12 months, jumping 53.56%. It’s up 95.67% over three years. Can the share price keep flying? Half-year results published back in August showed profit almost doubling from $366.4m to a record…
As expected, the cut rates by 25 basis points, but the Fed’s positioning regarding future rate cuts caught the market off guard. Looking back, it was somewhat obvious. Earlier yesterday, I shared a video highlighting how analysts were expecting more rate cuts than what the Fed Funds Futures and overnight swaps markets were pricing in. Historically, in my experience, the FOMC aligns more closely with Fed Funds and swaps markets than with analysts’ expectations, so the analysts seemed overly optimistic. We may see fewer—or potentially no—rate cuts next year. The Fed swaps market is currently pricing in just one rate…
In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CDW Corporation (NASDAQ:), a technology solutions provider with a market capitalization of $23 billion, announced amendments to its bylaws following a Board of Directors review. The changes, effective immediately as of Monday, align the bylaws with current Delaware law and modify the advance notice provisions for stockholder proposals and director nominations. The Vernon Hills, Illinois-based company, which operates in the retail-catalog and mail-order houses industry, detailed several key adjustments in its Amended and Restated Bylaws. Notably, the revisions are intended to clarify and, in some instances, lessen the disclosure obligations…
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden’s central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.50% as expected on Thursday, but said it now saw reasons to be more cautious about cutting rates in early 2025. Sweden’s economy has been treading water for the last two years after the Riksbank jacked up rates to fight surging inflation – which peaked at around 10% in late 2022. With price pressures now tamed, the central bank started cutting rates again in May, but households and businesses remain wary about spending. “If the outlook for inflation and economic activity remains unchanged, the…
The government last week asked the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to complete the government’s scheme on establishing and developing the carbon market in Vietnam in 2025. Quotas set limits on how much greenhouse gas facilities are allowed to emit, Photo: Shutterstock In October, the government mandated the MoF to work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), and relevant ministries to review legal documents on founding and operating a carbon credit market to be formulated as soon as possible. Under the latest draft, the market will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the country’s Nationally Determined…