FTSE sees biggest fall since November over Greek drama March 6, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index ploughed down through support levels yesterday as slowing global growth and Greece’s dithering over its debt swap plan intensified pressure on riskier assets, prompting a flight to safety and sparking fears of a deeper sell-off. London’s blue chip index, which is heavily weighted towards riskier banking and commodity stocks, posted its [...]
Dow drops more than 200 points March 6, 2012 THE Dow dropped more than 200 points yesterday, handing Wall Street its worst day in almost three months on renewed fears of a disorderly default in Greece and concerns that China’s slowdown would hit global growth. Analysts have expected a pullback for weeks, citing an overstretched market. Despite the day’s decline, the S&P 500 is [...]
A firm fuelled by the same spirit as the Olympic and Paralympic Games March 6, 2012 COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 142 DAYS TO GO Mike Sharrock is the man helping BP to bring twenty-first century energy to the London 2012 Games Q. WHAT WAS YOUR BRAND’S PRIMARY REASON FOR BEING INVOLVED WITH THE GAMES ? A. BP has had its home in London for over 100 years now, [...]
FX experts map out the direction for the dollar March 6, 2012 CMC MARKETS BRENDA KELLY When the US was downgraded from AAA to AA+ by Standard and Poor’s last summer, many believed that the safe haven status enjoyed by the dollar was coming to an end. This proved not to be. A look at the US 10-year Treasury indicates that level of demand – the yield, [...]
NORDICS MAY HAVE RUN THEIR COURSE March 6, 2012 FINANCIAL FEATURES WRITER JUST how long can the appreciation of the Nordic currencies last? When the Swiss National Bank (SNB) last year put in place measures to defend a floor in the euro-Swiss franc exchange rate, options for havens as the European debt crisis escalated were in short supply. For some, the Nordic currencies of [...]
THE TIPSTER March 6, 2012 THE dollar-yen pair has been on the tear since the start of February, climbing over 500 pips to hit highs not seen since May of 2011 around ¥81.84. The strong month-long trend line was broken though yesterday around ¥81.30 and it does look ripe for a correction. Look to sell any rebounds towards ¥81.40/50 with [...]
FTSE slides as miners hit by China’s cut in growth targets March 5, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 fell yesterday, as weakness in miners and engineers outstripped strength in defensive stocks after China cut its growth forecasts, while mixed economic data in Europe and the United States dimmed the outlook for global growth. London’s blue chip index shed 36.31 points or 0.6 per cent to 5,874.82, although it held within [...]
Lower US markets led by commodities March 5, 2012 US stocks fell yesterday for the second straight session and the third in the last four trading days, led lower by basic materials shares after China trimmed its growth target for 2012. The S&P 500 index opened lower and data showing the US services sector expanded in February at its fastest pace in a year [...]
Papering over the cracks – for now March 5, 2012 AFEW months ago, many market watchers were measuring the time until a full-blown disorderly Greek default with an egg timer rather than with a calendar. However, the risk of a Greek implosion – and the risk that such an event would drag the European financial system down with it – has lessened over the course [...]
CANADIAN DOLLAR SHOWS SOME PROMISE, AS AUSSIE DOLLAR HIT BY SLOWDOWN March 5, 2012 THE RESERVE Bank of Australia is expected to keep rates on hold at today’s meeting, but the news may prove cold comfort for the Aussie dollar-dollar pair as currency traders become increasingly concerned about the rate of economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. As this week opened for trade, the Aussie was the weakest link [...]