Citigroup lifts market despite decline in retail July 16, 2012 ASURPRISE decline in June retail sales was the latest worrying sign from the economy, pushing stocks slightly lower yesterday, but Citigroup earnings limited losses in another forecast-beating report from a bank. The S&P 500 has fallen in seven of the last eight sessions, weighed down by concerns about the economy. Still, in a sign of [...]
Trading hurdles at this summer’s Games July 16, 2012 LOOKING ahead to the start of the Olympic Games, there is no end of attempts to make tie-ins – official or not – with the festival of sport. But who are going to be the real winners and losers in business this summer? Much was made of the effects of the Jubilee celebrations on high [...]
US MARKET DATA POINTS TO A SUMMER OF CHALLENGES July 16, 2012 TODAY we’ll hear more from Ben Bernanke, as the chairman of the US Federal Reserve delivers his semi-annual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee. He’ll follow this up tomorrow by addressing the House Financial Services Committee. He is likely to remind policymakers that fiscal issues must be addressed, and that they cannot rely [...]
THE TIPSTER | Mining opportunities for profit July 16, 2012 MINING stocks have seen their fair share of selling this year, but BHP Billiton’s trading update on Wednesday may give the resources giant a chance to shine. Following a decline in its share price of some 10 per cent this year, investors will be hoping for some long-awaited good news. Capital Spreads quotes a price [...]
Analyst picks for 17 July 2012 July 16, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie-dollar and euro-yen, long dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few days We remain short on Aussie dollar-dollar from $1.0265, and short on euro-yen from ¥98.55, as we seek fresh monthly lows in these pairs. The euro-yen is [...]
LONDON REPORT July 15, 2012 A SLEW of company results this week culminates with a busy Thursday, when retail giant Sports Direct, Halfords, Kingfisher and Mothercare are all set to update the market. Accountancy software maker Sage is set to give an interim management statement today, which will be followed with a Capital Market Day for investors tomorrow. Panmure Gordon [...]
WALL ST THE WEEK AHEAD July 15, 2012 INVESTORS are looking at an onslaught this week. If it’s not corporate earnings, it’s Ben Bernanke talking about economic issues before Congress. Recent warnings from a number of companies, including chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, helped drag the S&P 500 lower for six straight days before a Friday rebound. The S&P 500 and Dow erased losses [...]
Lost in translation: The often tortuous trials of selling-up July 15, 2012 IT WAS depressing: the business was making continual losses. We’d tried everything we could think of, but nothing seemed to work. We’d made many mistakes and had an unfair share of bad luck. We reached a decision: find a buyer and sell it. The business was fundamentally sound, so in the right hands it had [...]
Anti-finance hate has gone too far July 15, 2012 WHEN a teacher commits a crime, people don’t question the legitimacy of education. And when a doctor breaks the law – and the Hippocratic oath – people don’t suggest that there is something inherently corrupting about giving people the power to save lives. Yet different standards are applied to finance. Far too many commentators take [...]
FTSE sees biggest daily fall in three weeks as fears over economy grow July 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index dropped in weak volume yesterday to post its biggest daily fall in nearly three weeks as growth concerns and fading hopes for near-term US monetary stimulus hit investor sentiment. Minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s June meeting, released overnight, suggested the central bank would be prepared to give stimulus through a [...]