Global Market Overview May 17, 2013

S&P 500 hits fresh record high

Australain Dollar coins surrond a US Dollar bill. ©Reuters

Dollar reaches three-year peak

Inside London from EQUITIES May 17, 2013

Gearing and gaming of water must stop

It is time for the customer to benefit, not private equity buyers

On Wall Street from CAPITAL MARKETS May 17, 2013

Easy money QE party will leave a hangover

Investors left to wonder if there’s time to buy before last call

Morning commuters pass in front of the exterior of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ©Bloomberg EQUITIES May 17, 2013

S&P 500 closes week at record high

Fourth consecutive week of gains

COMMODITIES May 18, 2013

Gold under pressure as investors flee

Precious metal hits one-month low as investors turned to equities

US treasury building from dollar bill CURRENCIES May 17, 2013

Dollar recovers to approach three-year high

Boost from hopes over early end to easing and economy’s strength

A man leaves a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in the city of London February 25, 2010. Royal Bank of Scotland posted the largest 2009 loss of its European peers but shrank from record-breaking levels, despite a sharp jump in bad debts which it says may now have peaked. Part-nationalised RBS said its operating loss for the year was a better-than-expected 6.2 billion pounds ($9.51 billion), which compares to 6.9 billion pounds ($10.6 billion) a year ago. ©Reuters EQUITIES May 17, 2013

RBS leads the FTSE 100 risers

London market nears touching distance of 13-year high

Fiat 500 L car in the assembly hall of the new FIAT factory in Kragujevac, Serbia ©EPA EQUITIES May 17, 2013

Car sales drive five-year high closer

FTSE Eurofirst 300 benchmark advances 1.2 per cent