What you need to know before the open – 11/02 February 11, 2014 Europe is set to open higher again today, following yesterday’s consolidation of gains from Friday’s payroll numbers. Of course, markets await Janet Yellen's – the Fed’s new chair – speech to Congress later today. It’s likely she'll say future tapering is data-dependent. Over in Asia, markets strengthened ahead of Yellen’s appearance. ETX Capital #morningcall: [...]
Barclays ups bonus pool by 10pc in 2013 February 11, 2014 Having said yesterday that profit before tax fell by a third (32 per cent) over 2013 to £5.2bn, Barclays has announced this morning that it upped its bonus pool by 10 per cent to £2.4bn in 2013. Bonuses for investment bankers rose 13 per cent to £1.57bn in the year. Revenue at the investment bank [...]
Thomas Cook revenues fall as low winter demand takes its toll February 11, 2014 Travel group Thomas Cook has reported a fall in revenue of 0.9 per cent or £15m to £1.6bn for the three months ended 31 December. The first quarter is typically the weakest for the travel company, which attributed the decline in revenue to lower demand for winter holidays to Egypt. The company reported a smaller [...]
Asian markets strengthen in countdown to Yellen testimony February 11, 2014 Asian shares are enjoying minor gains while gold prices have hit a three-month high, as markets wait to hear the new head of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen's testimony before Congress. Markets are hoping Yellen will confirm that US interest rates will remain low and the Fed will give further detail regarding tapering. The yen [...]
CNBC Comment: Volatile markets threaten the IPO revival February 10, 2014 THE SELL-DOWN in emerging market assets has seen investors withdraw money at speed. And it may not be over yet. As Nomura analysts have pointed out, just because the selling has been vicious, it doesn’t mean it’s a crowded trade. But stepping away from the herd is private equity. Last year, these cash-hoarders scoured the [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: How to quickly gain an edge in a one-eyed market February 10, 2014 MOST traders tend to stick to a single market and trade accordingly. But they could gain a great deal by leaving this attitude behind and looking at other markets at the same time. Did you know that, a majority of the time, euro-dollar and sterling-dollar trade in the same direction? Yet people still trade them [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Analyst’s pick February 10, 2014 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Stay short sterling-yen, watch for dollar-yen below ¥101.50 Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few weeks The yen was January’s top performer and started February strong. But sterling-yen’s late-week reversal draws further losses into question. We look to the individual [...]
George Soros overtakes Dalio as world’s most successful money manager February 10, 2014 George Soros, the man who broke the Bank of England, has just taken another scalp: Hedge fund manager and philosopher Ray Dalio. Soros, whose 1992 trade against the sterling during Black Wednesday earned him the famous moniker, has overtaken Dalio as the world’s greatest hedge fund manager, according to figures released today by LCH Investments [...]
Bitcoin problems blamed on Mt Gox failings February 10, 2014 Suggestions that cryptocurrency Bitcoin is flawed have been denied by the Bitcoin Foundation. The foundation claims that the bug Mt Gox has identified – known as "transaction malleability" – has been known about since 2011. In simplest of terms, it is a small window where transaction ID’s can be “renamed” before being confirmed in the [...]
Google overtakes Exxon to become US’ second biggest firm February 10, 2014 Tech giant Google has overtaken the world's No1 oil producer, Exxon, to rank as the US' second largest company by market capitalisation. On Friday Google closed with a cap of $395.42bn (£240.96bn), versus Exxon's $392.66bn, according to FactSet data. The shift marks the changing landscape of the US economy, as more of its capital shifts [...]