Key points
- Inflation keeps rising: Data published today shows UK prices continue their upward swing. The headline Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 5.1% in the 12 months to November 2021, up from 4.2% in October and higher than economists’ top-end consensus forecast of 4.7%. The latest figures puts further pressure on the Bank of England (BoE) to raise interest rates at Thursday’s monetary policy meeting.
- Single dose a success: French drug maker Sanofi and its British partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced Wednesday that a single booster dose of their recombinant adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine candidate has delivered “consistently strong immune responses.”
- The US Federal Reserve concludes a two-day policy meeting with the market predicting the US central bank will accelerate the pace of tapering.
- Chinese healthcare and tech stocks fell today, on reports the US will add more Chinese firms to the export blacklist this week.
Business and economic news
- UK software company Playtech saw its stock lift more than 3% Tuesday on news Mexican online gambling operator Caliente Interactive is discussing a $2.5bn merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Tekkorp Digital. Playtech holds a majority stake in Caliente.
- Cineworld shares dropped more than 30% after a Canadian court awarded Canadian Cineplex C$1.24bn for breach of contract over Cineworld’s decision to terminate a deal to acquire the Canadian exhibitor.
Markets
- Stocks: UK stocks were down today, as investors awaited announcements this week from the US Fed and UK BoE on interest rates. European stocks rose slightly, with the Euro Stoxx 50 index gaining.
- Oil: Oil prices fell today on growing signs that supply growth will outpace demand next year, and as the World Health Organization said Covid-19 vaccines may be less effective against the Omicron variant.
- Gold: Gold prices steadied today as investors awaited the Fed’s decision on monetary policy.
- Forex: The US dollar held firm today as currency markets waited the Fed’s next move on interest rates.
- Crypto: Bitcoin was up by 0.51% today and Ethereum also rose 0.91% in afternoon trade today.
Things to watch this week:
- The US announced today that it remains interested in selling F-35 fighter jets and drones to the United Arab Emirates after Abu Dhabi told Washington it would suspend talks on the $23bn deal that also includes munitions. Lockheed Martin shares are lower,
Read more: Pressure mounts on Bank of England as inflation hits 5.1%
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The difference between trading assets and CFDs
The main difference between CFD trading and trading assets, such as commodities and stocks, is that you don’t own the underlying asset when you trade on a CFD.
You can still benefit if the market moves in your favour, or make a loss if it moves against you. However, with traditional trading you enter a contract to exchange the legal ownership of the individual shares or the commodities for money, and you own this until you sell it again.
CFDs are leveraged products, which means that you only need to deposit a percentage of the full value of the CFD trade in order to open a position. But with traditional trading, you buy the assets for the full amount. In the UK, there is no stamp duty on CFD trading, but there is when you buy stocks, for example.
CFDs attract overnight costs to hold the trades (unless you use 1-1 leverage), which makes them more suited to short-term trading opportunities. Stocks and commodities are more normally bought and held for longer. You might also pay a broker commission or fees when buying and selling assets direct and you’d need somewhere to store them safely.
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