Trading trends change despite a stuck record July 23, 2012 AFTER a disappointing summer to date, we finally have some sunshine. But in the European markets, things are distinctly more gloomy. Italy and Spain have both brought in short selling bans. Their financial equities have taken a battering as the market lacks confidence in their long-term funding abilities. Both markets saw short-term relief rallies before [...]
CONSIDER YOUR STRENGTHS BEFORE STARTING TO TRADE July 23, 2012 THE SUMMER outlook is somewhat hazy – weather-wise and economically. In addition, there’s a large sporting event about to take place, which is set to make life difficult for anyone who lives or works in London. The likelihood is that trading volumes will be lighter than ever over the next month or so, as market [...]
THE TIPSTER | Brewing up a storm despite the sun July 23, 2012 SABMiller will serve up its trading announcement later this week. Investors will be hoping that news from the brewing giant will brim with plenty of fizz if its share price is to hold on to an 18 per cent gain for the year so far. The company’s increasing shift into emerging markets has helped it [...]
Commodities face a hard landing July 23, 2012 AS THE European economy shows no sign of pulling itself up by its own bootstraps, and with the US hardly faring any better, markets have been heavily dependent on Chinese demand to bolster commodity prices. But the predictions from a Chinese central bank adviser over the weekend did little to give markets confidence that the [...]
Analyst picks for 24 July 2012 July 23, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie dollar-dollar, long dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few days Our initial Aussie dollar-dollar short from $1.0265 was stopped out at break-even, but a new position was initiated on Thursday at $1.0425, seeking levels below $1.0200. The [...]
LONDON REPORT July 22, 2012 A SERIES of heavyweight corporate results and significant economic data releases await markets this week, culminating with the limelight being poured upon controversy-struck Barclays once again. Barclays will release interim results for its second quarter on Friday, with the ongoing Libor scandal likely to overshadow the banks’ forecasted profits. Fellow British lender Lloyds will itself [...]
WALL ST THE WEEK AHEAD July 22, 2012 THE trend of better-than-expected earnings will be put to the test this week when investors hope Apple can exceed already high expectations and Facebook reports its first quarterly earnings. Apple accounts for a significant proportion of the overall earnings of Standard & Poor’s 500 components. S&P 500 earnings are expected to show a rise of [...]
Switching bank accounts is easier than many imagine July 22, 2012 IF YOU only sourced financial advice from politicians, you might think switching bank accounts is next to impossible. Ed Miliband pledged that a Labour government would revolutionise banking by clearing hurdles to changing banks. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls alleged that “it’s very difficult to change bank accounts.” If you don’t like your bank’s behaviour – [...]
Fee paying banking will be a very tricky sell July 22, 2012 MARKS & SPENCER ruffled some feathers last week when it announced that it would be charging for the use of its current account – between £15 and £20 a month, depending on whether you want insurance included. In return, customers will receive vouchers for free hot drinks in M&S cafés, M&S vouchers worth £40 and [...]
Delivering the wrong business message is an elementary mistake July 22, 2012 THE TWO charming young people sitting opposite me beamed with enthusiasm about their new business. “We’re graphic design artists and web designers,” they said as they handed me a brochure. Then it got confusing. The brochure had lots of pictures of little squares, each filled with a capital letter in a fancy font. “We designed [...]