Discount stores feast on Tesco’s market share March 12, 2014 TESCO’S market share has fallen to its lowest level in almost 10 years as the supermarket and its mid-market peers lose ground to hard discounters Aldi and Lidl. Britain’s biggest supermarket, which announced plans earlier this month to win back shoppers by cutting prices, saw its market share decline to 28.7 per cent in the [...]
Consolidate: Don’t let your Isas go to waste March 11, 2014 But be very careful to avoid committing the cardinal sin of losing the tax wrapper on your existing investment With the end of the tax year fast approaching (5 April), the clock is ticking to make the most of your full Isa allowance (currently £11,520, up to half of which can be held in cash). [...]
Three Isa investment themes to play in 2014 March 11, 2014 @AnnabelPalmer1 ARE YOU making the most of your Isa? The end of the tax year is fast approaching, so not only is now the time to maximise your contributions (up to £11,520 in a stocks and shares Isa in 2013 -14), but it is also an opportunity to consider whether your portfolio needs rebalancing. City [...]
The big independence lie: Why Scotland could keep the pound | City A.M. March 11, 2014 TRUTH is usually the first casualty of political battles, as it is of war. I believe that Scotland and England are individually stronger for being part of the UK, but 25 years in currency markets tell me that the No campaign’s argument that Scotland cannot keep the pound is false. It would certainly be a [...]
Why the Bank of England must stop deleting its historical records March 11, 2014 THE DESTRUCTION of historical records by government bodies is a recurring motif of the unfree society. So the Bank of England’s hesitancy to publish transcripts from its meetings should be a serious cause for concern. Worse still, recordings of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) meetings are not even preserved. They are routinely deleted – the [...]
Venezuela’s mad socialist experiment is destroying a nation March 11, 2014 IF you want to see how to destroy an economy and a society, look no further than Venezuela. One year after the death of Hugo Chavez, its disastrous communist president, the country is on the verge of total collapse under his equally appalling successor Nicolas Maduro. Food is running out, as are other essentials, even [...]
CNBC Comment: How to invest amid fresh market highs March 10, 2014 IF THERE’S a full-blown war, we sell. If there’s a semi-war or ongoing tensions, we keep buying.” Most of the discussions I’m currently having with my guests sound a lot like this. While war is no good for anyone, fears about Ukraine and Russia are perceived by most investors as isolated, and many simply aren’t [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: There’s a way to deal with inevitable new trader doubts March 10, 2014 THERE are only a few things that can make you feel alive like trading with real money. Seeing a position gain in value will, without doubt, fill most new traders with a strong sense of euphoria. Yet any new trader who is happy with his or her returns, and who has gained confidence, will almost [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Analyst’s pick March 10, 2014 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Long euro-dollar from $1.3825, long euro-yen from ¥141.50 Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few weeks The long euro-yen and euro-dollar trades we positioned for last week were triggered on the ECB rate decision and, barring a [...]
The New York Times is totally wrong in its attack on London March 10, 2014 AN op-ed in the New York Times slamming the UK’s response to the Ukrainian crisis is making waves. Its author, Ben Judah, makes some decent if unoriginal points about how London depends on Russian cash, but his piece is so full of holes a fisking is in order. Here goes. 1 “On the [Shard’s] top [...]