Cable continued to push to all time highs above the 2.0400 level with hawkish sentiment remaining hot as DCLG housing prices printed a 10.9 percent increase.
Telecom company Vodafone has been reportedly considering a $160 billion takeover of its US counterpart Verizon Communications. If Vodafone?s were to take over Verizon, Vodafone would push past AT&T as the biggest telecommunications company.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2007/07/16/5911/vodafones-extraordinary-160bn-verizon-plan/[I]Source: Financial Times[/I]
Royal Bank of Scotland sweetened its $98.1 billion offer for ABN Amro Holding NV, looking to out-bid Barclays. Royal Bank increased their 79 percent cash offer to 93 percent cash.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a_gL.uCZQMfM&refer=uk
[I]Source: Bloomberg[/I]
DCLG house prices rose 10.9 percent from last year, down from April?s 11.3 percent, indicating housing inflation is being curbed. The slowdown in the DCLG housing figures followed a quarter of a percent rate increase from the Bank of England.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6900397.stm
[I]Source: BBC News[/I]
[B]Currency Markets: GBP/USD[/B]
Cable continued to push to all time highs above the 2.0400 level with hawkish sentiment remaining hot as DCLG housing prices printed a 10.9 percent increase. Investors are still looking for further tightening from the Bank of England to control inflationary pressures. Tomorrow?s consumer price index data is expected to reflect easing inflation, but remain above the central bank?s target 2 percent rate. The GBP/USD was most recently trading at 2.0366.
[B]Equity Markets: FTSE 100
[/B]The FTSE fell after gaining early in the morning as mining company Lonmin?s announced a lower forecasts of its annual sales. Vodafone also helped drag down the index, with shares down 0.7 percent on reports of a $160 billion buyout of US telecom company, Verizon. Easing the decline, shares of Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.5 percent as they increased their cash bid for ABN, trumping an offer from Barclays. The FTSE 100 was most recently quoted down -19.30 points at 6,697.40.
[B]Fixed Income Market: 10-Year Gilt[/B]
10-year yields fell today as DCLG reported slower than expected housing data, indicating further tightening from the Bank of England may be on hold. However, tomorrow?s inflationary data is expected to print higher than Bank of England?s target which could have yields climbing back up. Yields were further weighed down with investors turning to less risky securities as takeover speculations shook up the equities market. The 10-year was most recently quoted at 89.61, yielding 5.46 percent.
