BP has caught the headlines of the majority of the financial press, after being temporarily being banned from new government work in the United States. This ban came as a surprise to the markets, following the $4.5bn fine for the disaster caused by the 2010 oil disaster. The expected time frame for the suspension is likely to be no longer than 18 months, though it does send out a message to businesses that their actions will be met with government interventions. In the early part of th…

Following the terrorist attack on the bus in Tel Aviv yesterday, immediately following Crude futures spiked, due to the uncertainty. Subsequently Hammas has agreed a ceasefire with Israel, in a deal brokered by Egypt. In this eight-day conflict there has been ‘140 Palestinians and 5 Israelis killed’ (CityAM). Hopefully following the ceasefire the bloodshed will end and relative calm will return. Mike Lynch the boss of UK software firm Autonomy prior to its acquisition by HP…

Fitch said and Moody's downgraded France by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa with a negative outlook The FT says trading of US equities in "dark pools" has grown 50% in 3yrs and now represents a third of trading Credit Suisse Group AG plans to split its private bank business from its investment bank, and its asset-management unit will be dissolved and integrated into its wealth-management unit -Tagesanzeiger The Spanish government is offering residency for home purc…

It is the first trading session of the week, and over the weekend tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Gaza have escalated. The increasing use of firepower and the subsequent death toll on both sides has put the region at risk of a full on conflict. Egypt has attempted to mediate between the two sides, but Israel has moved ground troops towards Gaza, in advance of a potential ground assault. This has come under significant international scrutiny, yet western powers are currently un…

UK RICS Oct house price balance leaps to highest since Dec 2009 or -7 (f/c -15) vs -14 Sep MegaFon is to go ahead with market debut despite concerns raised about the editing of the Wikipedia entry of the Billionaire oligarch behind the deal – The Times Bloomberg is launching an iTunes-style portal for applications to allow external developers to sell software to their 315,000 subscribers -FT Germany investigates UBS clients over alleged tax evasion - FT NYSE Eur…

**Barack Obama has been re-elected for a second term as the President of the United States** Headlines BATS Chi-X applied to the FSA to become a fully-fledged stock exchange Citigroup in its quarterly filing, disclosed the Monetrary Authority of Singapore has launched a Libor enquiry - WSJ Hedge funds have bet millions against the British High Street - The Daily Telegraph RBNZ Financial Stability Report says further NZD strengthening possible, and Homes are ov…

US voters are in the final stretch of on the most expensive Presidential campaigns in history. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were campaigning up until the final hours in some of the key swing states and voters will be marking their ballots today. There will be exit poll indications of the result most likely from the close in Europe. However the Obama’s lead is believed to be marginal and exit polls are only an indication. Analysts have written various notes on the potential market…

US Exchanges are expected to reopen as normal today at 9:30am (ET), following the closure for two days due to hurricane Sandy. The storm has caused considerable destruction and devastation across the North Eastern coast of the US. It is estimated that there has been over 40 deaths and the cost is expected to exceed $10bn. Transportation across the region has come to a standstill as trains and busses were halted and flights grounded to avoid the storm. Sectors to watch are the insurance, indu…

**US Exchanges will be closed again today due to Hurricane Sandy, this means that Abshire-Smith clients are unable to trade US Indices** Headlines UBS shares rally after announcement of cost cutting , with the loss of 10,000 jobs in the investment bank Direct Line cuts 70 jobs in senior management as part of £100m cost saving plans by 2014 New Look has moved to reassure suppliers over its financial position, following an industry blog stating it was poised to en…

The NYSE and Nasdaq trading will be halted for trading today, for the first time in 27 years due to Hurricane Sandy. Evacuation orders have been put in place in low lying coastal areas on the North East of the United States due to the risk of flooding. The NYSE has revised its initial release that it was to close physical floor trading, to cease all trading on Monday and possibly Tuesday. Headlines Bank of England’s Spencer Dale has warned that Britain is heading into a sha…

It’s the final trading session of the week, yesterday traders and politicians alike were discussing the positive UK growth figures and exiting the recession. Analysts were quick to note the 1% print was due to the Olympics and Jubilee effect rather than a sustained recovery. These contributing factors were one off events that will not be in future quarters to assist in the UK recovery. The economic ride for the UK is expected to be a bumpy one, though this positive figure has led econo…