Business and Finance
This area provides up-to-date and interesting developments from the world of business, economics and finance.
A wealth of information is available on topics ranging from stock markets, consumer climate, labor market policies, bond markets, foreign trade and interest rate trends to stock exchange news and economic forecasts.
Eurex US first exchange to list 3-year U.S. Treasury Note derivatives
Modification of Futures and Options on 2-year U.S. Treasury Note Eurex US, the fully-electronic U.S. futures and options exchange, today announced that it will expand its product suite of benchmark USD-denominated fixed income derivatives. On February 1, Eurex US will introduce futures on 3-year U.S. Treasury Notes and options on the futures. This makes Eurex US the only exchange worldwide to offer these products. With the introduction of the new product, Eurex US meets customer de
Clearstream completes 2004 with strong growth in core businesses
Double digit growth seen in all new business areas Clearstream experienced strong growth throughout 2004 in all of its main business areas. The value of assets held in custody on behalf of customers rose to approximately EUR 7.6 trillion, a rise of 3.5 percent from the end of 2003. The number of international transactions processed by Clearstream rose to 17.2 million across 2004, an increase of 4.2 percent year on year. 17 percent of these transactions are registered as stock exchang
Strong growth at Clearstream for September 2004
Clearstream’s core business figures showed further growth levels in September 2004.
The number of international transactions processed by Clearstream rose to 12.8 million year to date September 2004, an increase of 4.6 percent year on year (January to September 2003: 12.2 million). 18 percent of these transactions are registered as stock exchange transactions, 82 percent as Over the Counter (OTC) transactions. The introduction of the equity central counterparty in March 2003 con
Monetary policy does reduce unemployment – are unions right to hold contrary views?
Recent monetary policy has helped control inflation which, in turn, has kept unemployment rates low according to detailed research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
The wider economic community is reluctant to accept that monetary policy affects the underlying natural rate of unemployment. However, in the light of the research, there is clear evidence to suggest that these views should be re-thought. Unions may need to change their stance on interest rate control and its pe
Research pinpointing investors risk tolerance could massively benefit stock market
Researchers from the University of Warwick’s Institute of Applied Cognitive Science have devised a new method of obtaining a precise understanding of a consumer’s tolerance of risk. The research can be used to help match consumers with financial options that are closely keyed to the exact level of risk that investor feels comfortable with. This approach runs counter to the current culture which tends to provide conservative solutions to people’s financial services needs. If used widely, the resultant
Why do firms raise prices more readily than reducing them?
Chancellors and central bankers face a perennial headache: booms typically cause inflation, while recessions mainly reduce output without reducing prices or inflation. New ESRC-funded research by Professor V. Bhaskar of the University of Essex explains how this problem emerges through the phenomenon of ’asymmetric price adjustment’ – the fact that firms are far quicker to increase prices than to cut them.
This work has important implications for inflation targeting by the Bank of