Global Event Update: US indices gained on Friday, with the S&P 500 recording its first close above 1,800, as positive economic reports countered worries about the Federal Reserve curbing stimulus as early as December. Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart said on Friday that the Fed would start scaling back on its bond purchases when the economy and financial markets are ready. Juergen Fitschen, the co-CEO of Deutsche Bank, has warned that negative deposit rates - which could be introduced by the European Central Bank (ECB) - would have unintended consequences that could lead to further problems. ECB President Mario Draghi played down a report earlier this week that the ECB could introduce negative deposit rates. He said, As I said at the press conference, this was discussed at the last monetary policy meeting and there is no news since then. Draghi also addressed a banking congress in Berlin on Friday speaking in detail about upcoming stress tests for euro zone banks. Growth data for Germany released on Friday showed the economy had grown by 0.3% since the last quarter, marking a 1.1% increase year-on-year. In addition, the business climate index from German think-tank Ifo – which measures business confidence among 7,000 domestic firms – climbed to 109.3 in November, surpassing forecasts and Octobers 107.4 reading.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 05:14:13 +0000
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