Discover
每日晨读金融时报|英语口语听力|原文及实用单词短语
207 Episodes
Reverse
▸ Ban on Chinese companies buying Nvidia AI chips pushes Wall Street lower▸ Euro slips against dollar but remains close to highest levels in 4 years▸ FTSE 100 stocks, sterling and gilts edge upwards after UK inflation dataUS technology stocks took Wall Street lower yesterday following a ban on Chinese companies buying Nvidia's AI chips.The Financial Times reported that China's internet regulator had banned the country's biggest technology companies from buying artificial intelligence chips from US semiconductor giant Nvidia.Nvidia shares were down 3 per cent by early afternoon in New York, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index 0.5 per cent lower.The blue-chip S&P 500 index dipped 0.1 per cent ahead of a highly anticipated US Federal Reserve meeting taking place later in the trading session, although stocks remained around record highs.
US groups including Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and OpenAI have pledged to invest billions of pounds in the UK, as Sir Keir Starmer hailed a tech alliance with Donald Trump before he landed in the UK for his state visit last night.The largest commitment is from Microsoft, which plans to invest $30bn in artificial intelligence in the four years to 2028, about half of which will go towards cloud and AI infrastructure in Britain. That includes backing construction of the UK’s largest supercomputer with 23,000 AI chips, agreeing a long-term leasing contract with London-based data centre company Nscale.Starmer said yesterday that the tech deal with Trump marked a “decisive step towards the UK becoming a world leader in AI”.UK officials have likened increased London-Washington co-operation in areas such as AI, quantum computing and nuclear energy as the start of a new “special relationship”, akin to traditional ties in defence and security.
▸ Euro climbs to four-year high against dollar ahead of Fed rate decision▸ Treasury yields fall despite stronger than expected US retail sales data▸ Wall Street’s blue-chips edge lower but European stocks hit by bigger lossesThe euro reached a four-year high against the dollar yesterday ahead of a highly anticipated US Federal Reserve interest rate decision due today.The single currency climbed 0.8 per cent against the dollar to $1.186, its highest level since September 2021. The move takes the euro's gain for the year so far to more than 14 per cent.The US Dollar index, which measures the strength of the currency against a basket of six rivals including the euro and the pound, slipped 0.6 per cent.The dollar is hovering around a threeyear low as investors wait to hear from the Fed's policymakers.“The dollar has struggled over recent weeks as US interest rate expectations have fallen significantly relative to those elsewhere,” said Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics.He added that “soft employment growth data and a clear change in tune from Fed chair [Jay] Powell” had been the main drivers of rate cut expectations.Markets are fully pricing in a quarterpoint interest rate cut from the Fed with a small number of traders betting on a bumper half-percentage point cut.Lower rates tend to weaken currencies by reducing the return for investors on holding assets in that currency.
Donald Trump has called for American companies to stop reporting quarterly results, as his Wall Street watchdog moved to scrap its aggressive enforcement agenda in a sign of a more business-friendly stance.The US president said on his Truth Social network that companies should shift to publishing figures twice a year, contrasting standard practice in the US with what he depicted as China’s more long-term approach.Most publicly listed US companies are required to file quarterly and annual financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.“Subject to SEC Approval, Companies and Corporations should no longer be forced to ‘Report’ on a quarterly basis,” Trump said. “This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies.”He added: “Did you ever hear the statement that, ‘China has a 50 to 100 year view on management of a company, whereas we run our companies on a quarterly basis???’ Not good!!!”Trump’s remarks came soon after Paul Atkins, his appointee as SEC chair, told the Financial Times in an interview that he would give businesses notice of any technical violations before regulators “bash down their door”.
▸ Tech sector boosts stock markets and Google parent hits $3tn valuation▸ Weaker US economic data lift hopes for interest rate cut from the Fed▸ Gold price at fresh record high on hopes of rate fall and weaker dollarGlobal stock markets started the week on a bright note as tech headlines buoyed investors hoping for the first US interest rate cut of the year.A positive tone in equity markets was supported by a filing showing Elon Musk had bought $1bn worth of Tesla shares, while Google's parent Alphabet broke through the $3tn market value in morning trading on Wall Street. The blue-chip S&P 500 index of US stocks was up 0.5 per cent by early afternoon in New York.The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9 per cent. It has gained more than 15 per cent this year as optimism over the growth of AI, and solid quarterly profits announcements for Big Tech groups, overcame investor concerns on tariffs and the health of the US economy.
The US Federal Reserve is this week expected to make its first interest rate cut this year, as it faces fierce pressure from Donald Trump and a split over whether the weakening jobs market can counter the inflationary risk posed by the US president’s tariffs.Investors widely expect rate-setters to lower borrowing costs by a quarter of a percentage point at Wednesday’s vote. After cutting rates by 100 basis points last year, the Fed has kept them at a 4.25-4.5 per cent range since December.But policymakers are divided over how quick and deep the cuts should be, and Fed chair Jay Powell has faced criticism from Trump, who has called on him to resign and labelled him a “numbskull” over his reluctance to cut rates.The US president ratcheted up his attacks last month when he tried to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud.Cook, who has denied the charges, is suing Trump, claiming he does not have the right to dismiss her.
The US and UK are rushing to finalise deals on nuclear reactors, AI data centres and whisky ahead of a state visit by Donald Trump overshadowed by the firing of Lord Peter Mandelson.OpenAI is set to announce a British arm to its $500bn Stargate data centre project, as part of a series of tech and trade agreements to coincide with the US president’s visit next week.The tech partnership was described by Mandelson, sacked this week as UK ambassador to Washington over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, as his “personal pride and joy”. Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to fire Mandelson risks angering Trump, who has been trying to dismiss his own connections to the late paedophile.Starmer has been rocked by the affair, with Labour MPs questioning his future. The prime minister’s allies said the state visit came at a pivotal moment as he tries to regain the initiative.For his part, Starmer hopes to present Trump’s three-day trip as an advertisement for Britain and a sign that his growth strategy is bearing fruit.
▸ Global government bonds lose ground after four-week rally▸ Gold prices move higher to near a recent record peak▸ Dollar bucks two days of selling to register gains on index against rivalsGlobal bond markets lost some ground yesterday after a rally driven by growing expectations of US interest rate cuts.A fall in price for 10-year Treasury bonds — the benchmark for global asset prices — pushed its yield up 6 basis points to 4.07 per cent as traders sold the debt.That is still down from a peak just below 4.50 per cent in July after a fourweek rally for US government bonds.Yields on 10-year UK gilts rose 5bp to 4.67 per cent while those on Germany's benchmark Bunds were up 6bp to 2.71 per cent.Pooja Kumra, a rates strategist at TD Securities, said the moves reflected some “profit-taking” among bond investors ahead of next week's meeting of the US Federal Reserve when the central bank is widely expected to make a quarter-point cut to its benchmark policy rate.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk hands out hats during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on Wednesday, before he was killed in a shooting that has rocked a divided America.Donald Trump has condemned the attack as a “heinous assassination” as he vowed to address “radical left political violence”. At a 9/11 memorial ceremony yesterday, he said he would posthumously award the presidential medal of freedom to the rightwing influencer.US authorities released images of a “person of interest” in the shooting, who they described as “college age”, after recovering a rifle and ammunition. The FBI has asked for the public’s help in identifying the individual and offered a $100,000 reward for any information.
▸ Trader confidence over Fed rate cut pushes global stocks to all-time highs▸ Treasuries and UK gilts prices rise while dollar slips against major rivals▸ European equities indices advance, also buoyed by US inflation dataGlobal stocks rose to record highs yesterday after American inflation data gave traders confidence that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.Wall Street's blue-chip S&P 500 index gained 0.8 per cent by early afternoon in New York and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6 per cent.Both indices were trading at their latest record highs, as was the MSCI All-Country World index, which tracks large and midcap stocks across almost 50 developed and emerging markets.Markets were upbeat after US consumer price index inflation data was released in line with analysts' expectations, showing the rate of inflation rising to an annual 2.9 per cent in August.Despite an uptick in the rate from July, investors saw the figure as clearing the way for the Fed to cut rates.
Larry Ellison, right, was propelled past fellow tech billionaire Elon Musk, left, yesterday to take the crown as the world’s richest person.The value of the Oracle co-founder’s stake in the software group was worth $387bn alone after its shares rose more than 40 per cent following bumper results. Musk’s worth is about $384bn, Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index says.Oracle’s rapid growth caught traders by surprise after it said revenue from its infrastructure unit would jump from $18bn this year to $144bn in five years — nearly 60 per cent higher than the $91bn that Wall Street had expected.Before yesterday’s surge to $334, Oracle’s share price had already gained more than 40 per cent this year. Its market value rose from $466bn at the start of the year to $943bn yesterday.
▸ Oracle’s bumper earnings push Wall Street benchmarks to all-time peaks▸ Investors snap up US Treasuries but dollar slips against basket of rivals▸ French stocks and government bond prices rise slightly after PM appointedWall Street rose to fresh record highs yesterday after software company Oracle announced bumper earnings driven by demand for artificial intelligence.The blue-chip S&P 500 index rose as much as 0.7 per cent by midday in New York while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index climbed 0.5 per cent, taking both indices to record peaks.Oracle's share price was 42 per cent higher after the cloud computing group's bookings punched through investor expectations in earnings announced after the market closed on Tuesday.Chris Turner, global head of markets research at ING, said the results “supported the hype in AI investment”.Wall Street stocks were also buoyed by soft inflation data, which added to traders' convictions that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.
The US added 911,000 fewer jobs than previously thought in the year to March, according to new official statistics that suggest the labour market in the world’s biggest economy began cooling sharply in 2024.The figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show national employment in the 12 months to March 2025 was far below levels in its closely watched monthly reports and indicate jobs growth began to lose steam in the latter part of Joe Biden’s presidency.Yesterday’s revision is the largest on record and roughly halves the 1.8mn job growth figure the agency had previously estimated for the year.The report will be a boost to President Donald Trump, who has argued that his aggressive tariff and immigration policies were not to blame for recent signs of weakness in the labour market.“These revisions suggest that jobs momentum is being lost from an even weaker position than originally thought,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING.Trump’s administration also used the data — which will further raise pressure on the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week — to renew its attacks on Biden.
▸ Wall Street stocks give up early gains after US jobs data revised lower▸ Dollar moves higher but US government bonds sold by investors▸ Paris stocks make modest gains as government collapse priced inWall Street stocks gave up early gains yesterday after revised data suggested that the world’s biggest economy was in a weaker position than investors had thought.After rising at the open, the blue-chip S&P 500 index was 0.1 per cent lower by early afternoon in New York, as was the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index.Revised figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the US added 911,000 fewer jobs than previously stated in the year to March.“These revisions suggest that jobs momentum is being lost from an even weaker position than originally thought,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING.He added that “the poor numbers seen in 2025 are probably overstating the health of the employment market”.
The US has informed countries in Europe that it is stepping back from joint efforts to combat disinformation from countries such as Russia, China and Iran, according to three European officials familiar with the matter.European countries received a notice from the state department last week that the US was terminating memoranda of understanding signed under Joe Biden’s administration, which sought to forge a unified approach to identifying and exposing malicious information spread by foreign governments seeking to sow chaos.The move comes as Donald Trump’s administration has dismantled agencies across government that sought to protect the integrity of US elections and to combat foreign malign influence at home and abroad.The memoranda were part of an initiative led by the Global Engagement Center, a state department agency that tackled disinformation spread overseas by US adversaries and terror groups.James Rubin, who served as head of the centre until December, described the decision as a “unilateral act of disarmament” in the information war with Russia and China. “Information warfare is a reality of our time and artificial intelligence is only going to multiply the risks from that,” Rubin said.
▸ US stocks climb as investors turn focus to possible Fed rate cut▸ Europe-wide Stoxx 600 index and Asian bourses gain ground▸ Greenback slides against basket of other major currenciesUS stocks rose yesterday as investor focus shifted to the possibility of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, following disappointing economic data at the end of last week.Weaker than expected non-farm payrolls data fuelled investor fears about a sustained growth slowdown in the US, sending stocks lower and bond prices higher on Friday.But equity indices regained ground yesterday, with the blue-chip S&P 500 index up 0.3 per cent by early afternoon in New York and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite adding 0.7 per cent.Following Friday's data, traders moved to fully price in a quarter-point interest rate cut by the Fed this month and some even started speculating on a bumper half-percentage point cut.“We think the August labour market data has opened the door to a ‘catch-up' 50 basis point rate cut at the September FOMC meeting,” said John Davis, US rates strategist at Standard Chartered.
Tesla’s board has proposed a new pay package for chief executive Elon Musk worth $1tn over the next decade if he is hits a series of formidable targets.Musk will receive no salary or bonus under the plan unveiled yesterday, but would collect shares in instalments unlocked by increases in Tesla’s market value, alongside milestones including a huge increase in earnings and selling millions of cars, robotaxis and artificial intelligence-powered robots.“Retaining and incentivising Elon is fundamental to Tesla . . . becoming the most valuable company in history,” chair Robyn Denholm wrote to investors, adding it would “drive peak performance from our visionary leader”.The board stressed that Musk’s incentives were aligned with investors’ interests and he will receive nothing if Tesla’s growth stalls. But the scale of the package is likely to revive a fierce debate over the earnings of the world’s richest man.
▸ Wall Street slides on fears of a sustained economic slowdown▸ Dollar retreats while Treasuries rally as investors bet on faster US rate cuts▸ Paris stocks weaker ahead of crucial French government confidence voteWall Street stocks slid yesterday after US employment data indicated that the world's biggest economy was slowing down.The closely watched figure for nonfarm payrolls showed that just 22,000 jobs were added in August, far fewer than the 75,000 that analysts had expected.The blue-chip S&P 500 index initially jumped to a record high as traders piled on bets of faster interest rate cuts.But the US benchmark soon reversed course on fears of a sustained economic slowdown and was 0.5 per cent lower on the day by early afternoon in New York.The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.2 per cent after also briefly hitting a new record.The weak data revived investors' fears of stagflation emerging in the US.
Businesses cut jobs at the quickest rate for four years this summer and reported the worst employment outlook since the pandemic, pointing to the impact of chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to raise payroll taxes.Companies reduced employment by an annual rate of 0.5 per cent in the three months to August, the worst figure since 2021, according to a Bank of England survey of chief financial officers published yesterday. Last month, businesses also told the central bank they expected to cut employment by 0.5 per cent in the year ahead. This is the worst reading since October 2020, when the economy was starting to recover from Covid-19 and some restrictions were still in place.Businesses have blamed tax increases in Reeves’ first Budget last October for the pullback in hiring, which has been reported in a string of other surveys.A £25bn increase in national insurance contributions, announced in the fiscal event, took effect in April along with a rise in the minimum wage.
▸ Core government bonds extend gains after soft US labour market data▸ Dollar advances, climbing against both the euro and sterling▸ Wall Street edges higher as investors lean into their bets on Fed rate cutsCore government bonds made further gains globally yesterday after the latest sign of weakness in the American labour market gave traders renewed hope of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve later this month.Data on US private payrolls came in weaker than analysts had expected while jobless claims were higher than forecast.Yields on benchmark 10-year US Treasuries fell 3 basis points to 4.18 per cent. The two-year Treasury yield, which tends to move with interest rate expectations, fell 2bp to 3.60 per cent as investors bought the debt.The private payrolls figure was the latest in a series of soft employment data ahead of key US non-farm payrolls data today.A weak non-farm payrolls reading for July caused a stock market sell-off last month and — with markets overwhelmingly expecting an interest rate cut this month — any unexpected strength in the jobs data could lead traders to trim their bets.Substantial weakness in the jobs numbers, however, could add to concerns over economic growth.




