Profit from the race to get America working July 9, 2012 WITH the US continuing to produce lackluster macro data and the presidential elections now less than four months away, eyes are on America’s two most powerful politicians – President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke – for signs of any moves to give the economy a boost. POOR QUALITY LABOUR Obama will today [...]
RATE CUTS AREN’T ENOUGH TO SOLVE ECONOMIC GLOOM July 9, 2012 FX360 LAST Thursday brought rate cuts from the European Central Bank (ECB), the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), and the Danish and Kenyan central banks. On top of this, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised its asset purchase facility by a further £50bn. Whether coordinated or not, these actions represented substantial monetary [...]
THE TIPSTER | Female fashion fails on attractiveness July 9, 2012 HIGH street retailer Marks and Spencer’s is today expected to announce its worst performance since the first quarter of 2009. Despite attempts to revitalise its female clothing arm through celebrity advertising, this area is clearly struggling and weighs on its non-food sector. Given that women’s clothing makes up 60 per cent of M&S’s general merchandise, [...]
China’s thirst is beginning to quell July 9, 2012 CHINESE domestic demand isn’t keeping pace with its industrial production. According to figures released at the weekend, Chinese June consumer price index-based inflation figures (CPI) fell to 2.2 per cent year on year, down from 3 per cent in May. Chinese macro statistics are notoriously unreliable, with suspicions that the communist government smoothes figures by [...]
Analyst picks for 9 July 2012 July 9, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie-dollar, long dollar-yen, short euro-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few days Our bearish risk case continues to build, and we now have some compelling technical cases for a further flight to safety ahead. Mainly, we look at [...]
LONDON REPORT July 8, 2012 ALL eyes will be focused on the Treasury Select Committee hearing today, as deputy Bank of England governor Paul Tucker presents his side of the story in the Barclays/ Libor scandal. His appearance will be followed tomorrow by one from Marcus Agius, the former Barclays chairman. Today sees trading updates from housebuilder Bovis – expected [...]
WALL ST THE WEEK AHEAD July 8, 2012 WALL Street has been running in circles for the past two months, and the pattern may continue despite the upcoming start of the earnings season. Quarterly report cards from blue-chips Alcoa and JPMorgan this week could fade into the background as traders jockey for position before key data from China and more central bank headlines. [...]
What to ask your financial adviser to avoid costly fees July 8, 2012 Big changes are happening in the way you are charged – you need to understand this new investment landscape ARE you ready for the retail distribution review (RDR)? After many years in the planning, the implementation of the RDR is quickly approaching on 1 January 2013. While it will change the way financial advice is [...]
Modern means for managing your money July 8, 2012 YOU’VE probably changed the way you buy airline tickets and car insurance over the last decade, and it’s likely that you shop around on the internet or buy through price comparison sites. But what about the way you invest your own money? Some of us do it ourselves, some leave it to a trusted adviser, [...]
FTSE ends higher but Europe closes lower as two-month high fades July 5, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed up but off session highs yesterday as markets fretted over global growth prospects, despite moves by central banks to boost flagging economies. Miners closed slightly higher after China surprised the market by cutting interest rates for the second time in two months. But in a sign of investor caution after [...]