FTSE 100 & FTSE 250 indices close lower on Thursday 17th August 2017 The FSTE closed below 7400 at: 7396 The FTSE 250 also close lower at: 19791

Inflation concerns drag on US stocks. The DOW Jones Industrial Average is falling and is under pressure today. Investors are likely to be concerned about comments made by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in its July meeting. Minutes released recently cast some concern over rising inflation. Also, the fallout …

The electric car battery power range set to improve as car manufacturers start to embrace newer technologies.  The electric car is going mainstream. Other than the Tesla model 3 my favourite electric car is the Ioniq from Hyundai. I just love the look of this car. The Ioniq currently has …

Walmart sales growth continues – sales were up 2.1% to 31st July 2017 to $123.40 billion on previous year.  Asda, a Walmart subsidiary also reported positive sales – the first in three years. Visit Wal-Mart Stores PLC (WMT) for  accounts report summary

UK Retail growth slows as shoppers cut back on some items but not on food. These latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) attracted comment from some analysts suggesting that the UK consumer is in a better place than expected and this could bode well for the future. …

Has Trump damaged his reputation as a business leader and as President in-light of recent events? His response to nationalist rallies was questioned by business leaders over the weekend. Trump set-up business advisory groups when he became president. This was seen as a positive move by the business community even …

The Japanese economy continues to build as exports continued to climb. The data for July also showed a rise in imports as demand for tech items such as cameras grew. Japan is the world’s third-largest economy and is gathering momentum. Figures out earlier this week showed Japan’s economy expanded at …

What exactly is Bitcoin? Is Bitcoin the new digital age currency? According to the official Bitcoin website it says that, Bitcoin’s inventor, Satoshi Nakamototo originally named it,  ‘A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’.  It is a digital currency that is used like cash but with no banks involved. The technology is …

On Wall Street the DOW Jones Industrial Average closed at 22002 – up slightly – but the S&P 500 closed down at: 2464 and the NASDAQ also closed down at 6333 – All with small movement though.

The FTSE 100 index closed up. The FTSE 100 index closed up 30 points at: 7383 – led by EasyJet (EZJ) up 5.2% to close at: £13.30 Since closing – the markets in general have stalled and most indices appear to be treading water. The worst FTSE 100 performer today …