The Fed has created golden opportunities October 23, 2012 MONETARY expansion has inadvertently given commodity prices a huge boost – but should traders focus on the spot commodity or gold mining equities? With the creation of QE Infinity – the open-ended quantitative easing programme unveiled last month by the US Federal Reserve – traditional monetary policy is now nothing but a speck on the [...]
Euro-dollar moving averages suggest a strengthening of the single currency October 23, 2012 ACCORDING to patterns of euro-dollar trend dynamics, the currency pair may be ripe for an upside breakout. For the third consecutive week, euro-dollar has pushed further above its 50-week moving average (WMA). Moving averages are used to define price direction by smoothing out price data with a slight lag. The longer the moving average, the [...]
Sterling trend may continue to be a friend October 23, 2012 IT HAS been difficult to accurately gauge the performance of the UK economy recently. The Olympics, Diamond Jubilee, and even the weather, have distorted the picture. In the last month, we have had positive government borrowing figures, excellent retail data, equally impressive employment data and have seen inflation fall to three year lows. However, construction, industrial [...]
Trading in yen risks losing a slice of profits October 23, 2012 THE Japanese yen has taken a smashing lately, falling by 3.5 per cent against the dollar since mid-September. Recent data shows Japan’s exports are down 10.3 per cent annually. While trade with China, its largest trading partner, is down 14.1 per cent on the back of political tensions over the Senkaku islands; trade to Western [...]
US flat as macro fears offset by strong earnings October 22, 2012 THE Dow industrials and the S&P 500 ended flat yesterday after a late-day bounce, as worries about slower global growth hitting corporate sales were offset by earnings that beat expectations. Technology shares led the day’s gains and pushed the Nasdaq up 0.4 per cent, as shares of Apple jumped four per cent to $634.03. Apple [...]
FTSE loses ground as investors fear weak third quarter earnings data October 22, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index lost ground yesterday, extending declines on concerns about upcoming third quarter earnings. Drugmakers dipped, with Shire down 1.8 per cent and AstraZeneca off 0.5 per cent. The firms kick off the heavyweight sector’s results season tomorrow. According to Thomson Reuters Starmine data, of the eight per cent of European companies that [...]
Top trader who wants to help the underdog October 22, 2012 ATRAIT common among successful traders is a thirst for knowledge. More knowledge means more trading ideas, according to Lex van Dam, who (in)famously handed eight trading novices $1m (£500,000 at the time) of his own cash to trade the markets at the end of 2009. With training from van Dam, the group outperformed professionals during [...]
A Romney victory could heighten China tensions October 22, 2012 FX360 WITH the US presidential election looming, the subject of employment and the health of America’s economy has predictably been high on the agenda. With the country’s manufacturing base suffering, there is a swathe of US voters looking for someone to blame for the unsettling situation. The Republican challenger Mitt Romney has pointed the finger [...]
The darling of the high street October 22, 2012 THE rocket that has gone off beneath Debenhams’s share price shows little sign of running out of fuel. Having breezed past a 2009 high around 100p per share, it now sits at levels not seen since late 2007. Overseas expansion and a store revamp have helped drive sales growth, providing a welcome change from the [...]
The markets are still a swing voter October 22, 2012 DOES the stock market vote Republican or Democrat? The US presidential elections are now only two weeks away. And as with any major event, there is no shortage of people who think that it will have an effect on the markets one way or another – usually in line with their own political bent. Traditionally, [...]