Futures
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Some senior staff at the Bank of England are uncomfortable with Mervyn King’s endorsement of the government’s public spending cuts, suggesting he has overstepped the line separating monetary and fiscal policy.
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The price of gold has been rising as the weak dollar, the volatile stock market, the lackluster economy, the yawning budget deficit, the accommodative Federal Reserve — all this and more have anxious investors rushing for the precious metal, reports the New York Times.
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The rumbling crisis over the integrity of the eurozone has entered a new and ominous phase, with economists and bond market investors questioning the ability of “peripheral” European economies to stay in the euro without yet another rescue package. The FT reports.
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Leading economies should consider readopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency movements, argues the president of the World Bank. The FT reports.
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Fears over the health of the euro zone bond market intensified after one of Europe’s biggest clearing houses warned investors they could be compelled to stump up more money to trade in Ireland’s debt. The FT reports.
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Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s beleaguered prime minister, blamed the media, the leftwing opposition and even the mafia for creating a scandal over his relationship with a teenage Moroccan belly-dancer, reports the Financial Times.
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Given the high market expectations, the US Federal Reserve had no choice but to announce a second tranche of quantitative easing, nicknamed QE2. But the measure is an inevitably blunt instrument for the difficult task of restoring growth and generating jobs.
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The London Stock Exchange was scrambling to establish how a human error in possibly “suspicious circumstances” had knocked out one of its dealing platforms on Tuesday as the exchange conceded it would now have to delay switching over to a new trading system until next year, reports the Financial Times.
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The cost of tires, gloves and condoms is set to rise following a 65 per cent jump in the price of natural rubber in the past year, reports the Financial Times.
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“Investors are maybe reaching a tipping point,” Brad Durham, EPFR’s managing director, told the FT. “They are feeling perhaps that enough is enough with the bond flows and are starting to take on a bit more exposure to risk.”
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China’s commodities exchanges do not yet play a global role and they are limited by laws banning foreign participation as well as China’s renminbi capital controls. The FT reports.
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The US economy may be faltering, but many big names in American manufacturing are going from strength to strength, reports the Financial Times.
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Ever since the so-called “flash crash” on May 6, policymakers have fretted about the state of equity markets. So have investors. The FT reports.
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Britain’s borrowing costs have dropped to the lowest in a generation, falling below those of Germany, Europe’s biggest and strongest economy, reflecting in part investor confidence that the government can bring the deficit under control, the Financial Times reported.
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Senior White House officials have cranked up their attacks on corporate spending in the midterm congressional elections, after fresh data showed Republicans gaining traction in the race to secure campaign funds, reports the Financial Times.
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Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Fed, said that “in my opinion, much more policy accommodation is appropriate today.” The Financial Times reports.
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The US expressed “concern” over defence cuts in the UK and other European countries, as Britain’s defence chiefs demanded last-ditch talks with David Cameron in an attempt to avoid the Treasury’s axe.
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Cotton prices soared to a nominal record high on Friday amid heavy buying in China, the world’s largest importer, and disappointing crops in major producing nations including Pakistan. The FT reports.
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The rally that added 15 percent to the S&P 500 Index since early July may be under threat. At least that's what the VIX may be signaling.
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The US mortgage foreclosure crisis deepened as it emerged that Wells Fargo may have used practices that prompted rivals to halt home repossessions, and JPMorgan Chase said banks might be fined over the issue.
Futures Now
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Find out what Jon Hilsenrath thinks Bernanke will say before Congress on Wednesday.
Commodities
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Gold rose as the dollar fell after Fed officials allayed investor concerns that the U.S. central bank would taper easing.
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Farmers are catching up with crop plantings at a record-setting pace.
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CNBC's Josh Lipton looks at three stocks to watch tomorrow, including Lowe's, which reports before the bell. American Eagle also reports and will tell a lot about the economy. And HP reports after the bell. Expectations are not high.