SoftBank bailout would give it control of WeWork: sources
Japan’s SoftBank Group has prepared a financing plan that would give it control of WeWork as the office sharing startup seeks badly- needed financing, sources told AFP Monday. The plan would give SoftBank, which is controled by billionaire Masayoshi Son, more than 50 percent of WeWork and further limit the influence of former chief executive…
Who’s betting against the pound? FX markets enter UK political fray
Britain’s opposition parties are hitting out at currency speculators betting against the pound while also bankrolling the leadership campaign of pro-Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson. However, allegations of conflicts of interest are difficult to prove in the highly globalised and largely unregulated foreign exchange (FX) markets. John McDonnell, the main opposition Labour Party’s finance spokesman,…
Tax cuts spent on sports gear, clothing & shoes
Tax cuts spent on sports gear, clothing & shoes Retail trade; Financial Stability Review Retail trade lifts: Retail trade rose by 0.4 per cent in August after an unchanged result in July (previously reported as a fall of 0.1 per cent). It was the strongest lift in spending in six months. Big retail up: Sales…
October lives up to its reputation
October lives up to its reputation Financial markets Global sell-off: Sharemarkets across the globe are down 2-3%, responding to a raft of worries Sharemarket movements can impact consumer sentiment and wealth and therefore affect spending. What has happened and what does it mean? • October has a bad reputation with sharemarket investors. There was the…
WeWork to withdraw IPO as it enters austerity mode
WeWork, which replaced its controversial chief executive last week, announced Monday that it will withdraw a plan to go public for now as it shifts into austerity mode. The company’s co-CEOs Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham said in a statement they decided to “postpone our IPO to focus on our core business, the fundamentals of…
CommSec Daily Report Wedsday
Latest News The Aussie market is currently having its worst trading session in a fortnight with the ASX 200 easing 32 points or 0.5 per cent to 6716, but off session lows. This follows falls on Wall Street overnight which was weighed by weaker US economic data and news that US Democrats beginning an inquiry…
Federal Reserve Gold-Bull Impact
The Federal Reserve’s endless machinations really affect the gold price, sometimes confounding traders with seeming illogicalness. This week the Fed cut rates again, which has really boosted gold in the past. Yet it plunged 1.7% in less than an hour after this latest decision! While gold’s Fed reactions often look capricious, there’s a method to…
NY Fed to pump another $75 bn into money markets Friday
For a fourth straight day, the New York Federal Reserve Bank on Friday will inject billions into US money markets to preserve the US central bank’s control over short-term interest rates. The New York Fed said in a statement on Thursday it will again conduct a repurchase agreement operation of up to $75 billion to…
New York Fed steps into market to move interest rates
The New York Federal Reserve Bank on Tuesday stepped into financial markets for the first time in more than a decade to keep interest rates in line with the Fed’s target. Analysts say the operation appears to have been successful but it caused some jitters, coming as the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee opens…
Central banks risk seeing their feted ‘independence’ watered down
William Martin is the longest-serving Federal Reserve chief, having served from 1952 when Harry Truman was president to 1970. A few years into the role, Truman saw Martin on a New York street. The president from 1945 to 1953 stared at Martin, called him a “traitor” and walked away. Martin’s betrayal? He prioritised a successful…
