Autocracy’s risky; but so is buying freedom too dear October 12, 2011 IT IS risky to invest in unstable countries, and autocracies are on average more unstable than democracies, despite some commentators’ views to the contrary. But surprisingly the data suggests that whether or not a country is democratic shouldn’t be a key factor for investors’ decisions. IMMORTAL DEMOCRACIES Stability and growth matter for investors. Happily, promoting [...]
FTSE breaks winning streak on worries over Euro bailout October 11, 2011 THE FTSE 100 share index snapped a four-day winning streak yesterday, as worries over Europe’s debt problems and the impact on the global economic recovery prompted investors to bank some of the recent gains made in commodity and financial stocks. The index closed down 3.3 points, or 0.1 per cent at 5,395.70, but recovered from [...]
Wall Street stays flat ahead of vote October 11, 2011 US stocks were little changed yesterday, with major indices seesawing between gains and losses before a key vote by Slovakia on expanding the Eurozone rescue fund. The back-and-forth moves on Wall Street follow several days of sharp gains. The S&P 500 has risen 8.7 per cent over the past five days, its biggest five-day move [...]
Looking at both sides of the Eurozone debate October 11, 2011 AS the Eurozone crisis rumbles on, it is easy for traders to get caught out by the news headlines. But too much pessimism can blind you to short term opportunities. Yes, there are weekly crisis talks from European leaders, banks being nationalised, recapitalisations and bailouts. And when those aren’t quite enough, a ratings agency decides [...]
CHINA IS KEY TO A FURTHER RALLY IN RISK October 11, 2011 AS global markets stabilised last week in the wake of better than expected US employment data, the bulls breathed a sigh of relief that the broad sell-off in risk assets may be finally over. Last week’s better than expected economic data may have quelled concerns that the world is headed for a double dip recession, [...]
THE TIPSTER October 11, 2011 THE Aussie dollar has scrimmaged its way back to parity in the last week as the US dollar rally receded and risk appetite picked up again. Once again though, it is finding it hard to get over the line and yesterday almost fell back to $0.990. Look for the $1.000 level to hold as firm [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS October 11, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short euro-sterling and Canadian dollar. Long sterling-dollar. Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week With France and Germany promising a “no holds barred” solution to Europe’s deepening crisis, my euro-dollar short is under extraordinary pressure. So while we haven’t closed [...]
A sound pound is nowhere to be found October 11, 2011 ALPARI JAMES HUGHES The pound has come back into focus at the start of the week after last week’s surprise announcement of further asset purchases by the Bank of England. Monday’s fall in sterling was in part due to MPC policymakers suggesting that the extra £75bn of QE announced last week could well be the [...]
FTSE hits a five-week high on optimism over debt talks October 10, 2011 BANK and commodity stocks hoisted Britain’s top shares to a five-week closing high yesterday, on mounting optimism over the prospects for a solution to Europe’s debt crisis after a weekend meeting of French and German leaders. The FTSE 100 ended up 95.60 points, or 1.8 per cent, at 5,399.00, after Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel [...]
Banks lead US stock hike October 10, 2011 US stocks jumped per cent yesterday, extending gains into a second week as a pledge by German and French leaders boosted hopes that the Eurozone debt crisis may be resolved. Financials led the rally. The KBW bank index jumped 5.3 per cent, with JPMorgan Chase & Co up 5.2 per cent and Bank of America [...]