Author: News Room

EY’s US business will embark on a $500mn cost-saving programme after its opposition torpedoed plans for a historic split of the Big Four firm.US leaders outlined a new strategy in a memo to partners sent shortly after EY’s global executive committee said on Tuesday it was abandoning ambitions to spin off its consulting and tax advisory businesses into a new company.The collapse of the plan, which would have marked the biggest shake-up to the accounting industry in more than two decades, has pitched the global firm into a new period of recrimination and uncertainty.The memo to US partners — signed…

In previous coverage, GSK (NYSE:GSK), a large ($76.5 billion) global biopharma company, was held up as a Buy for its A+ rated dividend (which decreased to 3.67% yield), A+ rated profitability on $9.1 billion revenue in Q4, A grades on valuation and EPS revisions, and as a defensive healthcare stock in this bear market. It is one of the five stocks promoted for their dividends that have all underperformed among personal recommendations (Figure 1), but it was the best of the bunch. It has mostly tracked the reference SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY) until pulling away since the beginning…

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In the world of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum have recently experienced a noteworthy 5% surge in their prices, momentarily pausing as they prepare for their next move. As investors and market enthusiasts closely monitor the situation, anticipation builds around the future for these leading digital assets. Will they continue their upward trajectory or face a potential correction? Let’s explore the factors influencing BTC and ETH prices and what may be just around the corner.BTC/USD is trading at 30,268, up 2.50% in 24 hours. As investors raised their bets that the US Federal Reserve would soon cease its hawkish policy, the most…

Bitcoin is nearly a year away from a key technical event — which might be the catalyst for a prolonged climb in the cryptocurrency’s value.In April or May 2024, bitcoin is expected to undergo its next so-called “halving,” though the exact date is not yet known.Bitcoin has been rising in the past few weeks in anticipation of the halving, as a potential U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut contends with the prospect of sluggish growth and tightening credit conditions resulting from woes in the banking sector.One bitcoin was worth roughly $30,000 as of Wednesday morning, according to data from CoinGecko.…

A push is on among lawmakers in Alabama considering removing, or phasing out, the state’s 4% sales tax on food. Alabama is one of only three states that tax groceries at the same rate as other purchases. Competing proposals are being introduced on both sides of the aisle in the Alabama Legislature to end the sales tax on all, or at least some, groceries.  After proposing the idea in Montgomery, it has gained traction this session.  SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. NOEM SAYS LEGISLATURE ‘WRONG’ TO DENY GROCERY TAX REPEAL The average Alabama family spends $600 a year on the state grocery tax…

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s government expects monetary policy next year not to be as restrictive as in 2023, an economy ministry official said on Monday, stressing that a new fiscal framework proposed by the administration would help bring interest rates down. Economic Policy Secretary Guilherme Mello noted that central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto had praised the proposed framework, despite him saying the new fiscal rules would not mechanically affect interest rates. “From the moment the monetary authority recognizes the quality of the fiscal framework, the prospect of monetary easing emerges,” Mello said in an interview with Globo News.…

By Peter Nurse  Investing.com – The U.S. dollar edged lower in early European trade Wednesday, as traders cautiously await the release of the latest U.S. inflation data which could influence future Federal Reserve monetary policy. At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.2% lower to 101.700. rose 0.2% to 1.0930 and traded 0.1% higher at 1.2431 in tight trading ranges. The main focus Wednesday will be the March U.S. CPI, as traders try to work out the U.S. central bank’s next move. The general perception is that the…

Falling FHLB debt issuance signals the easing of the US bank crisis – Blomberg By Sam Boughedda Bloomberg reported Monday that in the last week of March, the Federal Home Loan Bank system issued $37 billion in debt, a sharp fall from the $304B two weeks earlier. Citing a person familiar with the matter, the report states that the plunge from an all-time high earlier in the month is an early sign the banking crisis has started to diminish. The FHLBs were created to boost mortgage lending, with the system now known as the “lender of next-to-last resort.” While Federal…

BlackRock has upped its overweight of inflation-linked bonds, a move the giant asset manager said it made in March to “quickly take advantage” of the market pricing in a lower cost of living despite persistent price pressures. Last month bond yields dropped after the sudden failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, as investors bet the fallout would lead the Federal Reserve to pivot from interest rate hikes and battling inflation to rate cuts in an anticipated recession. “U.S…. Read the full article here