Banks gain on US economic optimism January 5, 2012 BANKS led Wall Street to gains yesterday even as Europe struggled again, a sign investors are betting a relatively strong US economy will help US stocks outperform other markets. Overall gains were small, but banks advanced for a third day, supported by better-than-expected economic data. US financial shares continued to delink from their European peers [...]
Fresh nerves over euro debt put dampers on FTSE index January 5, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue-chip share index closed lower yesterday on growing fears that Eurozone countries and banks could struggle to tap markets this year. The FTSE 100 dropped 44.19 points, or 0.8 per cent, to close at 5,624.26, in tandem with most European indexes and the euro currency, after a French debt auction, though oversubscribed, failed to [...]
Indices hold gains even as euro falls January 4, 2012 MAJOR US stock indices were little changed in a low-volume session yesterday, but some investors were encouraged to see equities avoid a sell-off amid lingering Eurozone debt problems. Indices held on to the previous day’s large gains even as the euro dropped sharply against the dollar. Notably, US banks held up well, even though bad [...]
Banks drag FTSE down as UniCredit prices at discount January 4, 2012 CONCERNS over the Eurozone sent Britain’s top shares into reverse yesterday after the previous session’s sharp gains, as Italian lender UniCredit priced a rights issue at a huge discount, and a German bond auction failed to excite. The FTSE 100 fell 31.46 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5,668.45, albeit in light volume, at 79 [...]
Undiversified portfolios were a risky bet in 2011 January 4, 2012 BEFORE the bust of 2008, investors coveted their neighbours’ investments, jealously looking elsewhere for the next big thing. Now in a bust, success is measured not by how much you make, but by how little you lose. 2011 was cut through with fears about persistent inflation, while the equally unrelenting crisis – or crises – [...]
Three expert insights on how to invest in 2012 January 4, 2012 ALLOCATING ASSETS WILL BE DIFFICULT TOM STEVENSON FIDELITY WORLDWIDE INVESTMENT THE nervous tone of early trading in 2012 has carried on where it left off at the end of a year that investors will gladly forget. An initial rally has soon run out of steam as European bond yields rise again and everyone remembers that [...]
Perfect the art of networking with these simple tips January 4, 2012 CAREER DEVELOPMENT EXPERT ONE of the first things to greet executives on their return to the office in the new year should be the fruit of attending all those pre-Christmas hospitality events – a neat stack of business cards promising new business leads. But perhaps not. Many people will be lucky to have amassed a [...]
Virtual connections are the smart choice this year January 4, 2012 ONLINE NETWORK ENTREPRENEUR MOST people I know hate organised networking. Walking into a room filled with people that they don’t know but that they feel under pressure to get to know, is just daunting and quite frankly inefficient. Digital networks remove those annoying situations that inevitably occur at cringeworthy business networking events simply through the [...]
US markets begin the year on a high January 3, 2012 STOCKS and the euro started the year with a sharp rally yesterday, boosted by better-than-expected global data and hopes the Fed could ease monetary policy further, even as crude surged on tensions between the US and Iran. A number of Federal Reserve officials believed economic conditions could “well” warrant a further easing of monetary policy, [...]
Manufacturing data sparks FTSE’s racing start to 2012 January 3, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares powered ahead at the start of the new trading year yesterday as upbeat economic data from the United States, Europe and China boosted risk appetite and helped investors set aside fears over the Eurozone debt crisis. The pace of growth in the US manufacturing sector accelerated in December, its best month since [...]