News

Blue Index News and Press Releases. Please visit this page often for regular updates regarding Blue Index as an organisation.

House Prices Falls / Housebuilders Gain

We were greeted with the news to day that UK house prices have fallen almost 15% over the past year. Luckily in the wake of yesterday’s Federal Reserve interest rate cut we have seen housebuilders put on hefty gains despite the data from Nationwide. The share price rises were up around 5% in the case of Taylor Woodrow (TW.), to 10% for Persimmon (PSN) and as much as 15% for Bellway.

10% Up On Wall Street Sets The Tone

The news from Wall Street overnight could simply not have been any better with the Dow posting a 10% rebound, as some reported “panic buying” of stocks. This may have really been “panic short covering” but the effect is the same and in some ways could ensure that indices and shares rise more than they really deserve to given the horrific economic / fundamental backdrop.

Interest Rate Cut Speculation

Although US stocks tailed off rather sharply towards the close, it would appear that the Fed starting its next 2 day interest rate meeting has focused minds as far as interest rate cuts are concerned. In fact, for the FTSE 100 we were not far short of a triple digit rebound to add to yesterday’s near 200 point intraday rebound from new 2008 lows. The good news was provided in a manner reminiscent of the gold old days before the Credit Crunch, with a mix of solid results and M&A news.

An Asian Collapse

Until now it was supposed to be the case that Asian economies, and particularly that of China, would not really suffer the recession which is becoming apparent in the West. This idea of a soft landing was killed today as key Asian benchmarks like the Nikkei were off as much as 10%, and the FTSE 100 driven down by over 9% to new 2008 lows under 3,800.