Wealth Management news

Early Trading

UK stocks are expected to open lower this morning as Fed euphoria gives way to commodity fears.

World Markets

Asian stocks fell, after a brief rebound from earlier losses, as a plan by the Bank of Japan to establish a new program to purchase exchange-traded funds disappointed investors.

US stocks fell, as traders turned their attention away from the Federal Reserve and back to falling oil prices. There was also some fretting over the US manufacturing sector, after numbers issued by the Philadelphia Fed showed it contracted. Shares of Halliburton finished down 4.7%, while shares of Chevron lost 3.1%.

UK stocks rose, as investors welcomed news of a rise in US interest rates. At the close the FTSE 100 was up 0.7%, following the Federal Reserve’s hotly anticipated move.

Headlines

UK retail sales rose by more than expected in November, as shops offered promotions at the end of the month in the run up to Black Friday. Sales volumes increased by 1.7% in November from the month before, the Office for National Statistics said.

The price of the average UK home will rise by 50% in the next 10 years, say the National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents. They forecast that average prices will rise from £280,000 to £419,000 by 2025. London house prices are forecast to nearly double to £931,000.

The government is to consult on new powers to allow the Bank of England to rein in the buy-to-let mortgage market. In April this year, the Bank was given extra tools to control the residential mortgage market. Those powers could now be extended to limit borrowing by landlords who buy property to rent out.

The European Parliament has voted to set up a committee to investigate the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The committee will investigate whether regulators failed to prevent the car industry from cheating emissions tests designed to reduce pollution.