Commodities
Stricken Suez Canal ship 'partially re-floated' - GAC
The ship blocking the Suez Canal is understood to have been partially re-floated, raising hopes that the backed-up flow of traffic would be able to resume.
Big banks invest $3.8bn in financing fossil fuel companies since 2015
Sixty of the world’s biggest banks provided $3. 8bn of financing for fossil fuel projects from 2016 to 2020, revealed a report by a coalition of NGOs.
Skoda to invest €2.5bn in new tech over next five years
Skoda announced on Wednesday it would invest around €2. 5bn over the next five years on future technologies, with more than half going to electric vehicle investment.
Eurozone business activity returns to growth in March
Eurozone business activity returned to growth in March, according to preliminary data released on Wednesday, but any further improvement was likely to be held back by the recent tightening of Covid-19 restrictions in several countries.
Spain to lift ban on UK tourists from 30 March
The Spanish government said on Tuesday it will be lifting a ban on travel from Britain at the end of March.
US new home sales drop sharply in February
New home sales undershot economists' forecasts by an enormous margin last month.
Fed's Kaplan among those expecting first interest rate hike in 2022
The US central bank should start hiking interest rates in 2021, a top Federal Reserve official reiterated on Tuesday.
Abu Dhabi sovereign fund invests $150m in Telegram app
Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, part-owned by Mubadala, announced on Tuesday they had made a combined investment of $150m in messaging app Telegram.
EU, China tensions escalate in tit-for-tat sanctions round
Tensions between the European Union and the people's Republic of China rose on Monday after the bloc imposed sanctions on four Chinese officials over human rights abuses in Xinjiang, triggering an immediate response from Beijing.
JP Morgan stays at 'overweight' for euro area stocks
Strategists at JP Morgan reiterated their 'overweight' stance on Eurozone and Japanese equities in 2021 and said they continued to expect that they would outperform shares on Wall Street.
Turkish lira drops after Erdogan sacks central bank chief
The Turkish lira fell heavily on Monday after the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sacked his the head of the country's central bank.
Fourth Covid-19 'wavelet' in US hinges on continued spread of B117 variant
The Covid-19 pandemic in the US appears to be in its final stages, but a fourth "wavelet" in the near-term was still a possibility, analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics said.
BofA sees further upside to European stocks with GDP set to leap higher
Strategists at Bank of America reiterated their 'positive' stance for European equities, telling clients the current vaccine 'malaise' would not derail the growth rebound anticipated later in 2021.
Bank of Japan drops huge stock purchasing target, holds rates
Japan’s central bank signalled its move away from its huge monetary stimulus policy on Friday, dropping its massive annual target for stock purchases.
Fed still sees 'considerable risks' from Covid-19 pandemic
America's central bank stayed put on policy, reiterating its commitment to maintain short-term interest rates low until the economy was firmly on the recovery path.
US housing starts fall in February as harsh winter weather stymies construction
Housing starts fell more than expected in the US during February as extreme winter weather conditions hindered activity but still-elevated construction permits and backlogs seem to point to momentum in homebuilding remaining high over the next few months.
'Ample' supply weakens case for oil 'supercycle' - IEA
Demand for oil is set to rebound sharply in 2021 but talk of a supercycle is exaggerated, the International Energy Agency forecast on Wednesday.
Eurozone inflation holds steady at 0.9%
Inflation across the eurozone remained steady in February, official data confirmed on Wednesday, supported by more expensive services.
EU car registrations drop as crisis hits demand
EU car registrations fell 19. 3% in February as Covid-19 containment measures and uncertainty continued to weigh on demand, industry figures showed.
Inflation takes over from Covid as biggest tail risk for investors - BofA
Covid-19 is no longer seen as the biggest risk to equity markets, according to the latest Bank of America Fund Manager Survey, with inflation and taper tantrums now bigger concerns.