Japan is ready to try anything to weaken yen December 18, 2012 JAPAN’s Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) emphatically took control of the country’s lower house on Sunday. The outcome was anticipated by currency traders, who expected the dovish LDP leader Shinzo Abe to walk into the job of Prime Minister, becoming Japan’s seventh leader in as many years. Although many believe that the LDP’s victory heralds a [...]
US markets up on hopes of economic deal December 17, 2012 THE S&P 500 ended at its highest level in almost two months yesterday on rising hopes that negotiations over the “fiscal cliff” were making progress and that a deal could be reached in days. After weeks of stalemate, President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner met at the White House, raising hopes that [...]
Aggreko sinks on profit warning as Vodafone is hit by high 4G pricing December 17, 2012 BIG falls by temporary power firm Aggreko and market heavyweight Vodafone weighed on Britain’s top shares yesterday as the final full trading week of 2012 got off to a lacklustre start. Aggreko was the biggest percentage blue chip faller, dropping 22 per cent after the firm issued its second profit warning in two months, saying [...]
Capital classifications will give gold a boost December 17, 2012 US BANKS are staging an eleventh hour appeal to have the implementation of Basel III delayed from its 1 January 2013 deadline, arguing that they would need to bolster their balance sheets with an additional $800bn (£493bn) in core capital assets under the new framework. But while there may be some protests, and the date [...]
The markets don’t sleep during the festive period December 17, 2012 OVER the Christmas period, equity markets are often seen as offering slim pickings for spread bet and contract for difference traders. Granted, there’s the prospect of a Santa rally, but otherwise the FTSE-100 index tends to end up trading in tight ranges as volatility ebbs away. Underlying volumes are low, traders generally aren’t at their [...]
Steady as she goes December 17, 2012 SHARES in cruise operator Carnival are up by over 14 per cent over the last year. Its earnings conference call on Thursday will confirm that bookings have held up well. The company has also commissioned new ships, adding to its burgeoning fleet. It may not be entirely plain sailing going forward but, for now, the [...]
Looking ahead to the 2013 markets December 17, 2012 IF WE have to go through 2013 in a similar vein to 2012, with a record number of Eurogroup, Ecofin, Euro summit, and FinMin meetings, my patience will be severely tested. It’s about time we moved on from over-analysing upcoming banking unions or aid packages. We need to return to a sense of normality, and [...]
Analyst picks for 18 December 2012 December 17, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie-yen and euro-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few days I closed a long dollar-yen position at ¥84.15, booking a gain of 4.3 per cent. Given the results of the Japanese elections, I then flipped the position, going [...]
Inflation unlikely to give festive cheer in thin week for corporates December 16, 2012 INFLATION figures are unlikely to give UK households much festive cheer tomorrow, with forecasts of a slight rise in November. “Data are expected to show that consumer price inflation edged up further to 2.8 per cent in November after jumping to 2.7 per cent in October from a 34-month low of 2.2 per cent in [...]
No time off for traders as fiscal cliff is looming December 16, 2012 THE last two weeks of December are traditionally quiet for stocks, but traders accustomed to a bit of time off are staying close to their mobile devices, thanks to the “fiscal cliff”. Last-minute negotiations in Washington on the so-called fiscal cliff – nearly $600bn of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in [...]