INSIGHT MARKETS April 23, 2012 CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST THE news of the French election, with the Socialist candidate creeping ahead of incumbent president Nicholas Sarkozy, had the predictable effect of unsettling the FTSE yesterday morning. Although yesterday’s falls have only taken it back to the levels seen around a week ago, it is beginning to seem as if a combination [...]
LONDON REPORT April 22, 2012 UK investors are set for a busy week with a slew of earnings both here and on Wall Street, the release of Britain’s quarterly GDP rate and a decision from the Fed on the US Bank rate. Both the Nationwide Housing Prices report and Nationwide Consumer Confidence report are due out this week and today’s [...]
WALL ST THE WEEK AHEAD April 22, 2012 A SPIKE in bond yields has brought Europe’s debt crisis back to the forefront last week, and traders will be anxiously watching the sovereign debt markets alongside corporate earnings in the week ahead. US economic figures point to steady-but-uninspired growth, and stocks have backed off the sharp gains that recently pushed indexes to near four-year [...]
Insights from a young Silicon Valley startup April 22, 2012 THE RACE is on to turn Britain into an entrepreneurial society. But we aren’t blazing a trail just yet. This global pursuit for innovation remains a one-horse race, with Silicon Valley light-years ahead of the competition. Sam Chaudhary and Liam Don – the British-born founders of ClassDojo – have gone west to strike gold. THE [...]
Don’t toss away your cash: An expensive lesson in making faults April 22, 2012 WHEN Pat Cash won Wimbledon in 1987, he was asked how it could be improved. “I guess they could hold it in summer” he replied with classic Aussie irreverence. So when we met years later, I knew we’d get on well, and I ran my new idea past him: a website to sell high quality [...]
London businesses ruling the waves April 22, 2012 THE winners of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise have just been announced and London has plenty of worthy entrepreneurs among winners. Dating back to 1966, the awards particularly celebrate those exporting their products and services to the rest of the world. London’s winners include several companies where the entrepreneur still holds a major stake: Acturis; [...]
Get the best out of a financial adviser April 22, 2012 THE new tax year is always a good incentive to review your finances, but with a host of changes to the financial landscape, and so many products on the market, it’s not always easy to see the wood for the trees. An independent financial adviser will look at individual circumstances and provide tailored advice. This [...]
FTSE ends the day flat as Vodafone gains fail to make up for oil gloom April 19, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue-chip share index closed flat yesterday, as banks gave up gains after rising yields at a Spanish debt auction unnerved investors, but Vodafone outperformed on expectations it will make a bid for Cable & Wireless Worldwide. Vodafone, the world’s biggest mobile phone carrier by revenue, added five points to the index by the close, [...]
Wall St falls for second day as job fears grow April 19, 2012 US stocks fell for a second day yesterday as labour market data showed more signs of weakness, while a warning from Qualcomm and poor results from Stanley Black & Decker also discouraged investors. A late bounce cut the losses of the Dow and the S&P 500 nearly in half. Apple shares, down 3.4 per cent, [...]
Euro fears and ex-divi stocks see FTSE slide after two days of gains April 18, 2012 BRITAIN’S leading share index dipped into negative territory yesterday, pulled down by a set of ex-dividend stocks, while fears of another blow-up in the Eurozone crisis kept investors nervy ahead of a Spanish debt auction. The FTSE 100 index closed down 21.66 points, or 0.4 per cent at 5,745.29, after two days of gains, as [...]