U.S. watchdog eased trading rules for Wall Street banks, which brought them one of the biggest victories in the Trump administration, but sparked criticism from consumer advocates who warned of potential taxpayer risks. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have approved an updated version of the so-called Volcker Rule, which aims...

The growth rate of world trade in the third quarter of 2019 will remain below the trend line, as evidenced by the Trade Barometer indicator calculated by the World Trade Organization (WTO). In August, the index was 95.7 points (the figure less than 100 points indicates a decrease, more than 100 points means an increase). The level of all components of the index turned out to be below 100 points:...

US stock indexes closed trading on Wednesday with a fall of about 3%, showing the worst dynamics since the beginning of the year due to fears of a recession in the United States, as well as weak statistics from Germany and China. During the Wednesday trading, the yield on two-year US government bonds rose above the yield on the standard 10-year US Treasuries for the first time since 2007. This...

The monthly economic sentiment index in Germany, published by the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), in August dropped to minus 44.1 points, losing another 19.6 points compared to July. This is the minimum value of the index since December 2011. At the same time, the ZEW economic situation assessment index deepened into the negative zone by 12.4 points for the month, to minus 13.5...

In 2019, global oil demand this year will grow by only 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) as the growth in January-May has been minimal since 2008, follows from the August forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA). While the market is not in danger of oversupply, the OPEC + participants in July fulfilled its conditions by 134%. Moreover, the potential demand for cartel oil in the coming...

The largest US pharmacy chain CVS has announced that it will open significantly fewer pharmacies in 2019 compared to 2018. The second largest network, Walgreens, announced imminent closure of about 200 pharmacies. Experts note that pharmacy chains are following the clothing retail chains, which have closed hundreds of stores in the USA under the increasing pressure of online commerce. On...

For the first time since 2013, the cost of an ounce (28.35 g) of gold exceeded $ 1,500 due to increased demand for defensive assets amid fears of an escalation of the trade war between the United States and China and expectations of easing monetary policy by leading central banks of the world. Gold quotes on the Comex exchange in New York rose during trading by 1.3%, to $ 1,503.3 an ounce. Since...

Head of the Japanese banking lobby warned about the danger to the industry if the central bank increases monetary stimulus or lowers interest rates more, Reuters reports. The recent escalation of the trade conflict between the United States and China has shocked financial markets and triggered an undesirable yen rise. This has increased likelihood of increasing incentives for the Central Bank of...

The trade war between the US and China, which could lead to a decrease in oil demand, is forcing experts to revise price forecasts. So, analysts at Fitch Solutions agency forecast an average price for Brent in 2019 at $ 65–67 per barrel with a potential reduction to $ 60 per barrel by 2022. Experts began to lower oil price forecasts amid the trade war between the United States and China....