US stocks edge higher despite signs of slump July 2, 2012 US stocks edged higher yesterday, shaking off a surprise contraction in US manufacturing, which some investors took as a signal the Federal Reserve will take more forceful actions to boost the economy. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index came in at a lower reading than expected in June, registering a contraction in the sector [...]
Barclays stabilises as value investors return July 2, 2012 AS Barclays’ shares bounced back yesterday, this served as an important reminder to retail traders that the markets are not rational and it is easy to get your fingers burned. Anybody set up to take a short position on the FTSE open would have been hurt as the bank went on to be one of [...]
ECB MANOEUVRES HAVE NOT CHANGED THE EU DYNAMICS July 2, 2012 FX360 FRIDAY’S trading brought the first half of the year to an extraordinary conclusion. Risk assets soared, as investors responded to news from the EU summit. Expectations for a positive outcome from the meeting were low to non-existent. Yet, despite the well-publicised objections by Germany in the lead-up, European leaders cobbled together an agreement to [...]
THE TIPSTER | Hoping for a high-flying statement July 2, 2012 BUDGET airline Easyjet will be hoping that the Eurozone crisis is not going to put off people from travelling this summer, as it issues its a trading statement on Thursday. Its share price has done its own share of high flying, putting on over 30 per cent in 2012. With the far from clement conditions [...]
Doing the UK supermarket sweep July 2, 2012 THE jubilant spending during the Queen’s diamond jubilee may have given the high streets a boost, and inflation is being slowly reined in, but UK supermarkets are still facing a difficult year ahead. According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee boosted retail sales in June, but shop sales were down [...]
Analyst picks for 2 July 2012 July 2, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie dollar-dollar and Aussie dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week Technical divergences are building and it appears we have completed five waves up in the Aussie dollar-yen and Aussie dollar-dollar, the FX market’s barometer of risk-appetite. As such, [...]
LONDON REPORT July 1, 2012 ALL eyes this week will be on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which is on Thursday expected to inject another £50bn into the British economy. The decision is likely to be influenced by last week’s news that the double-dip recession is deeper than first thought. The Office for National Statistics said the [...]
WALL ST THE WEEK AHEAD July 1, 2012 US stocks finished the first half of the year with a bang as investors welcomed news that the Eurozone is a step closer to solving its 30-month-long debt crisis. Now for the question: Is this rally strong enough to last for more than a day? The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their best daily [...]
Libor scandal drags FTSE 100 into the red as banking stocks plunge June 28, 2012 BANKING shares dragged Britain’s FTSE 100 into negative territory yesterday, battered by concerns over the financial impact of an investigation into the fixing of interbank lending rates that has already engulfed Barclays. Barclays slumped 15.5 per cent in its worst daily fall since 2009, with four times the usual number of shares traded in London. [...]
Stocks volatile over EU, banks and Obamacare June 28, 2012 US stocks fell yesterday but pared back sharp losses late in the session on talk of progress by European leaders in easing the region’s debt crisis, while the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding a landmark healthcare law hit large health insurers. Markets are especially skittish about any shift in expectations for the Eurozone as European Union [...]