A sharp rise in interest rates last week meant far fewer homeowners could benefit from a mortgage refinance. That was the primary driver behind a 2.6 percent drop in total mortgage application volume last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted report. Volume was 10.5 percent lower than a year ago. Refinance volume […]
Read moreCommittees in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to approve bills aimed at tightening oversight of foreign investment to slow China’s acquisition of sensitive U.S. technology. The Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee approved laws that would strengthen the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States […]
Read moreEuro zone economic growth slowed much more sharply than expected this month, a business survey showed, which along with weaker inflation has intensified concerns there will be no return to the bloc’s recent boom times. The European Central Bank will end its asset purchase program this year and hike interest rates in 2019, a Reuters […]
Read moreChina’s state grain stockpiler Sinograin has been enquiring about the prices of soybeans from the United States this week, two traders with knowledge of the matter said, a sign Beijing may resume purchases as trade tensions ease. The renewed interest in the oilseed, used in animal feed, follows Beijing’s pledge at the weekend to buy […]
Read moreHewlett Packard Enterprise reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast on Tuesday, helped by higher demand for its servers, storage and networking equipment. The company, created in 2015 from the breakup of Hewlett-Packard, said it now expects adjusted profit between $1.40 and $1.50 per share for 2018. The company had previously […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
Renowned fund manager says Italy won’t exit the euro and we won’t face another Brexit
The two anti-establishment parties looking to clinch power in Italy will not take the country out of the euro zone and reject the single currency, the co-chief of asset management firm Standard Life Aberdeen told CNBC Wednesday. The resurgence of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and Lega — two anti-establishment parties putting together the next […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
Italy's populists face setback on their new leader amid scrutiny over his CV
The two anti-establishment parties looking to share power in Italy face the prospect of having their first choice for prime minister rejected. The leaders of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and Lega, Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, chose a relatively unknown private law professor called Giuseppe Conte as the country’s next prime minister. They […]
Read moreBritain’s Marks & Spencer on Wednesday reported a 5.4 percent fall in full-year profit, a second straight decline, hurt by a weakening in the food profit margin. M&S, one of the best-known names in British retail, made a pretax profit before one-off items of 580.9 million pounds ($778.6 million) in the year to March 31. […]
Read moreEuropean stocks are set to open lower on Wednesday morning, amid souring market sentiment over the progress made in trade talks between the world’s two biggest economies. The FTSE 100 is seen off by 39 points at 7,856; the CAC is expected to open around 22 points lower at 5,627 while the DAX is poised […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
Barclays is reportedly looking at a potential merger with Standard Chartered
Barclays has spoken to its rival bank Standard Chartered about a potential merger but no formal or informal bid was made, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing two unnamed sources. One director each from the two London-headquartered banks met to discuss the possible benefits of merging, the FT said. The conversation that took place […]
Read more