Bank lawsuit looms large over the equity markets September 4, 2011 THIS morning’s direction for the markets will be dominated by the news which came out late on Friday evening that a US regulator is suing 17 financial institutions for mis-selling billions of dollars’ worth of mortgage bonds, which ultimately proved toxic when the US housing market collapsed. The targets included not only major US banks [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD September 4, 2011 Friday’s jobs report that showed hiring in the US unexpectedly ground to a halt in August is increasing speculation the Federal Reserve will move to stimulate the economy. But will it help stocks? Fed action – if it happens – is no longer viewed as the elixir for the stock market it once was. Wall [...]
Try for the goal of profiting from the Rugby World Cup September 4, 2011 CAN Martin Johnson do as coach what he did as captain eight years ago and lead England to glory in the Rugby World Cup? A bumpy build-up and an apparent lack of creativity in his squad selection suggest that Johnno will struggle to replicate his achievement. Sporting Index quotes the Red Rose at 41-44, where [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD September 4, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Lonrho announces today. It invests in infrastructure, transport, agribusiness, hotels and support services businesses in Africa. ● On Tuesday, Allstate, Ashtead and Genus all announce. The latter is a British-based business selling products manufactured using biotechnology to cattle and pig farmers. ● Amphenol will announce on Wednesday. Amphenol was founded in Chicago [...]
THE TIPSTER September 4, 2011 TRADERS in oil explorer Rockhopper probably don’t know whether they’re coming or going. The share price of the AIM listed oil and gas exploration company, based in the United Kingdom with licences to explore for oil and gas in the North Falkland Basin, have rocketed from 35p all the way up to 550p and back [...]
What to do when your firm is hit by disaster September 4, 2011 IF you watched in horror as small businesses around London burned a few weeks ago and wondered what you would do if that happened to your company, you aren’t alone. Destruction of your premises is a tragedy, but it doesn’t need to be fatal. At Carter Backer Winter, we’ve dealt with this stuff before. Here’s [...]
Bank bounce offsets mining slump to drag FTSE upward September 1, 2011 A BOUNCE back by banks hauled the UK’s leading share index higher yesterday, with earlier falls reversed in the afternoon after stronger than expected manufacturing data allayed fears over the health of the US economy, ahead of a key jobs report. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 24.12 points or 0.5 per cent [...]
Wall Street drops ahead of job report September 1, 2011 WALL Street’s four-day rally ground to a halt yesterday, with major indices falling one per cent ahead of a key labour market report expected to underscore fears the economy is headed for another recession. Financials were the biggest losers, selling off sharply in the afternoon, led by Goldman Sachs. Goldman’s shares fell 3.5 per cent [...]
Dog funds draining investor wealth August 31, 2011 EVEN in the boom years, sticking with expensive fund managers that consistently fails to even beat its index is careless – during the bust years it is unforgivable. Yet Bestinvest has revealed in its biannual Spot the Dog report that £23.16bn of retail investors’ money is currently being misallocated in 94 underperforming dog funds, a [...]
Carry trading geysers a risk for Iceland August 31, 2011 ON the surface of things, Iceland appears to be on the road to recovery. However, trouble could be bubbling under the country’s crust. On 17 August, it took the decision to raise its main interest rate by a quarter point to 4.5 per cent, the first such move since the country’s banks collapsed in 2008. [...]