Prices rose faster in August across
the 27 nations of the European Union (EU) compared with July, according to
official figures. The EU statistics agency Eurostat said inflation hit 2.7%
last month, compared with 2.5% the previous month. In the 17-nation eurozone,
inflation also rose to 2.6% from 2.4% in July. Figures also showed that the
number of people in work across the EU in the three months to the end of June
rose to 223.4 million. Employment across the euro area remained stable at 146.4
million in the second quarter. The number of people out of work in July hit a
record high of 18 million, prompting calls for the European Central Bank to cut
the cost of borrowing, pump more money into the eurozone economy or both.
Major US banks are being investigated for insufficiently safeguarding against
being used by drug dealers or terrorist groups to launder dirty money, it was
reported Saturday.
An
article in the New York Times suggested that federal and state
authorities were ready to launch an aggressive crackdown on the failure to
monitor transactions, in a move aimed at flagging to financial institutions that
weak compliance is unacceptable. Officials told the Times that regulators are
close to taking action against JP Morgan, while other firms including Bank of
America are also being investigated over perceived shortcomings when it comes to
putting a check on money-laundering activities. It comes just months after a
Senate committee roundly criticized HSBC for ignoring warning signs that it was
being used by money launderers and drug cartels in Mexico. US politicians also
accused HSBC of circumventing US sanctions on countries including Cuba and Iran
– a charge that has also been levied against JP Morgan. The Senate report was
also highly critical of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC),
stating that the regulator needed to take "stronger action" on banks that
exercise poor anti-money laundering controls. The OCC is now leading the
crackdown on non-compliant banks, according to the New York Times report.
3 comments:
Gold could hit $2,400 an ounce by the end of 2014, according to analysts at Bank of America. In a note today, Francisco Blanch and his team write:
We have maintained a $2,000/oz target on gold on the back of our expectations of further monetary easing in 2H2012. While still over $200/oz short of our target, gold has staged a phenomenal rally the last two and a half months moving up to an intraday high of $1,779/oz last week. The uplift in prices has come as expectations materialized into aggressive policy easing announcements by the Fed and the ECB in recent days. Is this the end of the gold rally or will prices continue to move higher? While we maintain a 9m target of $2,000/oz, we now introduce a 24m target of $2,400/oz. The new target reflects our view that the Fed will maintain mortgage purchases until the end of 2014 and will move to buy Treasuries following the end of Operation Twist this coming December.
[...] Our analysis suggests that a single month’s purchases of MBS to the tune of $40bn will likely lift gold prices by around 0.7% within the time frame of four months. Assuming that these purchases will continue until the end of 2014, this may lift gold prices by a cumulative $360/oz relative to spot, taking quotations to $2,100/oz. If we include additional Treasury purchases of $45bn per month once Operation Twist comes to an end, we see an additional monthly uplift in gold prices of 0.8%.
Gold could hit $2,400 an ounce by the end of 2014, according to analysts at Bank of America. In a note today, Francisco Blanch and his team write:
We have maintained a $2,000/oz target on gold on the back of our expectations of further monetary easing in 2H2012. While still over $200/oz short of our target, gold has staged a phenomenal rally the last two and a half months moving up to an intraday high of $1,779/oz last week. The uplift in prices has come as expectations materialized into aggressive policy easing announcements by the Fed and the ECB in recent days. Is this the end of the gold rally or will prices continue to move higher? While we maintain a 9m target of $2,000/oz, we now introduce a 24m target of $2,400/oz. The new target reflects our view that the Fed will maintain mortgage purchases until the end of 2014 and will move to buy Treasuries following the end of Operation Twist this coming December.
[...] Our analysis suggests that a single month’s purchases of MBS to the tune of $40bn will likely lift gold prices by around 0.7% within the time frame of four months. Assuming that these purchases will continue until the end of 2014, this may lift gold prices by a cumulative $360/oz relative to spot, taking quotations to $2,100/oz. If we include additional Treasury purchases of $45bn per month once Operation Twist comes to an end, we see an additional monthly uplift in gold prices of 0.8%.
More bond auctions this morning, where the eurozone's temporary bail-out fund has managed to get a sale of short term debt away at negative interest rates.
The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) sold six month debt at average rates of -0.0181pc, compared with -0.0179pc at the previous auction in August. This means investors were willing to pay to lend to the find.
Demand was also strong, with 2.8 bidders for every bond on offer.
Post a Comment