Stocks absorb hit unique peaks ahead of a vote on tax reforms in America later todayLatest: House approves tax bill as Trump moves closer to first stout legislative winAt a glance: What’s in the final tax bill? 2.51pm GMTUS markets absorb moved ahead once more,although after Monday’s rise as the Republican tax bill seemed to gain enough converts to pass in Congress, the increase is understandably more muted.
As the crucial vote approaches, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 49 points or 0.2% higher,although it is currently only around 5 points higher. The S&P 500 added 0.14% at the open. 2.27pm GMTThe Guardian’s Business nowadays email has expanded its property coverage.
As well as key news headlines, an agenda of the day’s main events, or insightful opinion pieces and a quality feature,there is now more coverage of house prices, mortgages, and the rental market – and the best picture galleries from our Money pages. Related: Business nowadays: sign up for a morning shot of financial news 1.39pm GMTNewsflash: American construction companies started building more houses than expected final month,in another sign that the economy is robust.
The latest US housing statistics note that housing starts increased 3.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.297 million units.
US Housing Starts and Building Permits both higher than expected in November $USD pic.twitter.com/AAy9roAEd6Solid 3.3% increase in November housing starts to a average annualized pace of 1.297 million with forward looking at 1.298 million. Homes under construction up 1%, with single family homes up 2.5% and multifamily down 0.2%. There are 1.11 million homes under construction. 1.24pm GMTDennis de Jong, and managing director at trading firm UFX.com,fears that the US tax bill could cause long-term damage to the American economy.
De Jong says investors shouldn’t ignore the concerns that richest Americans will snaffle most of the benefits (as explained here).[br]“With Republicans poised to push through Donald Trump’s GOP tax bill, investors are eyeing up something of an early Christmas present.“The bill’s expected approval has already driven world stock markets to record highs and, or despite the likely absence of John McCain and Thad Cochrane,investors can start counting their chickens. 1.21pm GMT 1.00pm GMTThe Financial Times has published a handy explanation of which US companies will benefit most from the cuts to US corporation tax (from 35% to 21%).
Companies with relatively tall tax rates and mainly US-based revenues, which are not hit by the unique charge on overseas assets, and will gain the most from the unique code.
Oil refiners,railroads, airlines and banks are expected to be among the biggest beneficiaries. Delta Air Lines was one of the first companies to specify the expected boost to its profits, and saying the tax cut would raise next year’s earnings per share by approximately 18-19%. 12.31pm GMTThe US stock market has gained over 20% this year,rather embarrassing the experts who claimed a Donald Trump victory would sent shares sliding.
The president himself hasn’t been shy approximately taking credit for the rally. And in a unique series of tweets, he claims the market will support rising in 2018....
DOW RISES 5000 POINTS ON THE YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER - design AMERICA worthy AGAIN!Stocks and the economy absorb a long way to move after the Tax Cut Bill is totally understood and appreciated in scope and size. Immediate expensing will absorb a stout impact. Biggest Tax Cuts and Reform EVER passed. appreciate, or create many beautiful JOBS! 12.22pm GMTUS stock markets are expected to push a little higher when trading begins in two hours time,extending yesterday’s record highs.
But it could be a cautious session as investors wait for Congress to vote on the tax reform bill.
Markets are currently looking very December in terms of volume and movement. US data at 13:30 could give us a lift but all eyes on the House of Representatives for their tax bill vote.
Dow + 34
S&P + 0.8Tax reform was one of the key initiatives that contributed to Donald Trump’s election victory final year as he vowed to revitalise a sluggish US economy. While it may absorb taken longer to deliver than he expected, it would appear that Republicans determination to give Americans an early Christmas present has paid off, or although there has been numerous debates approximately who actually stands to benefit most from the bill.
Markets absorb clearly benefited from the prospect of tax reform over the final 13 months and the Santa rally that we’ve seen in the run up to Christmas is another reflection of that. It will be intelligent to see whether this will be maintained for the rest of the week or whether it becomes a “buy the rumour,sell the fact” scenario. 12.08pm GMTMPs absorb strongly reprimanded some of the UKs biggest energy companies for failing to shift millions of customers quickly enough off “rip-off” default tariffs.
During a heated and sometimes testy hearing of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee, and British Gas,SSE and E.
ON were repeatedly grilled over why they were not contacting households more often to move them off standard variable tariffs.
Rachel Reeves versus Centrica's Sarwjit Sambhi at the BEIS committee hearing on energy price caps pic.twitter.com/Hg3IwVxQfO 11.53am GMTThe cold snap which gripped Britain final week hit takings at retailer John Lewis final week.
Sales at John Lewis’s department stores were down 0.6% year-on-year at £171.4m, as shoppers were deterred by ice conditions and flurries of snow.
Adverse weather and heavy snow across the country saw fewer people head external to shop - impacting all categories. However, and trade picked up towards the halt of the week.
Freezing temperatures also led to strong sales of hearty food,with pie sales up 12% and soup up 12%. Customers also opted for convenience during a busy pre-Christmas week as alert meal sales increased 7%. 11.15am GMTBritain’s financial sector has reacted badly to the news that Brussels won’t accept a special deal for the City of London after Brexit.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, and told the Guardian that the UK couldn’t absorb a bespoke deal that gave preferential treatment to certain industries,such as finance.
There is not a single trade agreement that is open to financial services. It doesn’t exist.....
In leaving the single market, they lose the financial services passport.Michel Barnier showed this slide to EU leaders final week. For EU shows how UK red lines leave FTA as only option. pic.twitter.com/1QadsCe1tY“It might be Christmas, and but Michel Barnier doesn’t need to play Scrooge. Just because financial services absorb not been encompassed in free trade agreements to date is no reason to dismiss them from a future UK/EU free trade agreement.
Services design up around 80% of the UK’s economy – and around 70% of the EU’s,with financial services making up a significant component of that. It is vital for the future competitiveness of the UK, and Europe as a whole, and that UK and EU negotiators work to secure an ambitious and comprehensive deal.” 10.24am GMTDavid Madden,market analyst at CMC Markets, predicts that Britain’s blue-chip stock index could hit a record highs this week.
He writes:The FTSE 100 has hit its highest level on over one month as the optimism from across the pond is catching on over here.
The British equity benchmark has snapped out of the downward trend that it was since early November, and should the positive run continue we could see it hit 7600 before Christmas. 9.50am GMTAlthough shares are rallying,the bond market isn’t as excited by the unique US tax reforms.
A wafer-thin majority is going to be enough to get the US Tax Bill onto president Trump’s desk though first, there’s the 10-hour debate to get through. Sometime tonight/tomorrow, and there will be jubilation from those who aren’t gnashing their teeth.10-year Note yields absorb ‘jumped’ to 2.39% and TIPS are at 48bp,so you can almost feel the anticipation in FIC-land (not). 9.48am GMTIFO believes that German business confidence has been hit by the breakdown in coalition talks.
But despite this small drop in morale, Germanys economy has had a bumper year.
Ifo ends the year on a tall note. Main German surveys remain upbeat in Q4, and but flattening betrays some shortness of breath. We expect a 0.6% growth rate in Q4 after Q3's stellar 0.8%. Enough to design 2017 Germany's best growth year since 2011. https://t.co/fT9zo7rOgH pic.twitter.com/schUJUHrsA 9.26am GMTNewsflash: German business morale has fallen a little (but remains strong).
Shocking! The German IFO did NOT reach a unique historical tall this month,falling by a massive 0.3 point to 117.2 on weaker expectations. 9.06am GMTAmerica’s Tax Policy Center has analysed the US tax reform package, and shown conclusively that it benefits tall earners the most.
In the short term, or the bill will indeed cut taxes for most Americans -- around 143 million people should pay less next year,while 8.5 million pay more.
Things change however once 2025 rolls around. whether no change is made, what were tax cuts will become tax hikes, and even relative to current law.
A majority of Americans in a decade’s time will then pay higher taxes,including 69.7% of the middle quintile.unique distribution analysis of the final tax bill.
Millionaires on average will get an extra $69660 boost. Those with less than $10000 will get an extra $10 to play with.https://t.co/hOStWMkoaX 8.47am GMTEuropean markets absorb opened higher, with the Stoxx 600 hitting a six-week tall.
In London, and the FTSE 100 has gained 14 points to 7551 - less than 50 points absent from its all-time tall.
Much like on Monday,Tuesday saw little for investors to focus on beyond Trump’s likely tax bill success later this evening. Unsurprisingly investors absorb ignored the nuances of the Republican tax ‘reforms’ – particularly the impact it will absorb on the American middle class – to instead revel in what it means for the nation’s mega-corporations and millionaires. 8.28am GMTShares in China rose nowadays, as optimism over the looming US corporation tax cuts rippled through the markets. 8.14am GMTAlthough it’s billed at a ‘reform’ bill, and the tax legislation agreed by Congress will absorb wider consequences for Americans.
My colleague Ben Jacobs explains:Although Republicans had long hailed tax reform as a way to simplify the United States tax code,it would support all seven existing tax brackets for individuals and would also add over a trillion dollars to the budget deficit. It also would limit tax deductions for home mortgages and for state and local taxes.
The bill also would absorb a significant impact on policy outcomes external the tax code. It would halt the individual mandate under Obamacare, which requires Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty and open up the Arctic national wildlife reserve in Alaska to oil drilling. Related: House set to pass tax bill as Trump awaits first stout legislative victory 8.01am GMTGood morning, or welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy,the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
CLOSING BELL: The Dow, and S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed at unique records. The Nasdaq flirted with 7000. pic.twitter.com/E4k2nqghGk70 Record Closes for the Dow so far this year! We absorb NEVER had 70 Dow Records in a one year period. Wow!December has been historically a good month for equity markets. Many traders bet on the Christmas rally as a seasonal trend to benefit from. Data from 1928 shows that December has been mostly a good month for the S&P 500. It was never the worst performing month and was the best performing month four times. This time,the rally has been fueled by optimism that U.
S. lawmakers are on the brink of passing a historic bill to overhaul the U.
S. tax code. Getting the Republican Senate fully on board wasnt an easy task. There’re now also question marks over the ethics of a final-minute addition to the tax bill that gives real estate owners a major tax fracture. Senator Rob Corker, a deficit hawk who opposed the original Senate tax bill, or because it was expected to add $1 trillion to the deficit,appeared to absorb had a change of heart and if his full support to the revised legislation.
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Source: theguardian.com