Market Round-up 17.07.14 – 09:00hrs CET
Sanctions placed on some of Russia’s most prominent companies.
The new companies on the US sanctions blacklist include oil group Rosneft and several Russian banks and energy companies which will be blocked from long-term US financing. A group of defence companies will have their assets blocked.
UK court freezes assets belonging to “Putin’s banker”.
One of Moscow’s richest men, Sergei Pugachev fled Russia after a bank he owned collapsed. He was served papers on behalf of a Russian liquidator in London on Monday.
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew pushes US Congress to crack down on tax inversions.
In a letter to the top lawmakers on tax policy in Congress, Mr Lew said US lawmakers should pass measures to stamp out inversions contained in the Obama administration’s most recent budget proposal.
Chinese government increases buying of US Treasuries this year at the fastest pace since records began.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note has fallen to 2.54%, from 3% at the end of 2013.
EU leaders fail to reach deal on jobs.
A summit of European leaders held to pick the three remaining top EU jobs broke up early Thursday morning with no deal on any of them. The summit’s chairman said he would reconvene the group in six weeks to try again.
GSK admits to 2001 China bribery scandal.
GlaxoSmithKline faces further scrutiny from US prosecutors after it emerged that staff were caught bribing Chinese officials more than a decade ago.
Lloyds admits sending out ‘misleading’ debt collection letters.
Lloyds has been accused of behaviour “calculated to mislead” after admitting it had been sending out debt collection letters from in-house lawyers under alternative names since the late 1980s.
Typhoon kills at least 38 in the Philippines, heads for China.
The Philippines set to work clearing debris, reconnecting power and rebuilding flattened houses on Thursday after a typhoon swept across the country killing 38 people, with at least eight missing, rescue officials said.
OVERNIGHT MARKETS
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 up +14.14 (+0.09%) at 15,393
Topix down -1.13 (-0.09%) at 1,272
Hang Seng down -55.07 (-0.23%) at 23,468
ASX 200 up +29.34 (+0.53%) at 5,548
US markets
S&P 500 up +8.29 (+0.42%) at 1,982
DJIA up +77.52 (+0.45%) at 17,138
Nasdaq up +9.58 (+0.22%) at 4,426
European markets
Eurofirst 300 up +18.01 (+1.33%) at 1,376
FTSE100 up +74.22 (+1.11%) at 6,785
CAC 40 up +63.75 (+1.48%) at 4,369
Dax up +139.86 (+1.44%) at 9,859
Currencies
€/$ 1.35 (1.35)
$/¥ 101.52 (101.67)
£/$ 1.71 (1.71)
€/£ 0.7891 (0.7892)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) unchanged 0.00 at 107.17
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.26 at 101.46
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,300
Copper (Comex) down -0.06% at 3.20
Sources: FT, Bloomberg
All information correct as of 09.00CET. For the latest news from the financial markets, please visit deVere Foreign Exchange. For regular news updates throughout the day, please view deVere Market News