New approaches: network your way to the top in a private members’ club August 31, 2011 THE IVY, SOHO TYPICAL MEMBER: Members are usually already well connected. Duncan Bannatyne, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the BBC’s Mark Thompson have been spotted there recently. STYLE: The management are hell bent on privacy. No cameras or phones. Membership is through recommendation only. EASE OF NETWORKING: Great speaker events give you access to big-name celebrities. EIGHT [...]
Miners and bankers lead rush to share in European success August 30, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares advanced yesterday, playing catch-up with Europe after a long holiday weekend, led by miners and banks as brokers argued that the recent stock market sell-off has thrown up bargains in the two sectors. JP Morgan highlighted opportunities among miners following their poor performance in August, seeing rewards for those prepared to buy [...]
Wall Street gains after day of jitters August 30, 2011 US stocks rose for a third straight day yesterday in a volatile session, after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting boosted expectationsthe central bank will act again to stimulate the economy. Equities surged near the close of the market, though they quickly pared gains, after the release of the Fed’s 9 August minutes showed [...]
Cheaper long-term mortgages are back August 30, 2011 MORTGAGE rates are plummeting. Interest rates on gilts and swaps – those things that indicate the price of fixed-rate mortgages – have been heading downwards for some time and look to set to stay there. Now lenders seem to have caught on and have started dishing out the goods. Last week, Chelsea Building Society launched [...]
Europe’s playing chicken with looming recession August 30, 2011 THE markets’ are once more weighing up the Eurozone. Yesterday, the euro fell against all major currencies upon the growing suspicion that Jean-Claude Trichet is becoming dovish, together with the release of bad data. In the European Commission’s business and consumer confidence survey, the broad economic sentiment indicator (ESI) for August came in at 98.3, [...]
RISK TRADE HINGES ON US EMPLOYMENT August 30, 2011 DOUBLE dip or muddle through? That’s been the central question facing the currency markets. As economic data started to deteriorate across the world amidst growing investor unease with fiscal policies in US and Europe, the bears have been eager to forecast another global contraction. Yet, although the latest data has been anaemic, it nevertheless remains [...]
Cash in as funds move to balance fx hedging August 30, 2011 AS September rolls around, so does the opportunity to take advantage of currency movements as hedge funds and portfolio managers move to rebalance their currency exposure at the end of the month. The greater the swing in principal asset prices, primarily those of equities and bonds, the more likely it is that fund managers are [...]
THE TIPSTER August 30, 2011 THE Kiwi dollar has gone up against the US dollar to its highest since the beginning of the month, after building permits had its biggest jump since 2008 and Chinese manufacturing increased. This data shows traders are hungry for riskier assets at the moment, which could see the Kiwi push higher short-term. Capital Spreads quotes [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS August 30, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short euro-dollar and long dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week The big fundamental threats are fading into distant specters. For me, that signals a switch back to short-term setups rather than looking for big breaks and trends. None [...]
FTSE to open over 100 points higher after holiday August 29, 2011 A FROTHY combination of surprisingly strong US consumer spending data, merger news between two Greek banks, and general relief that Hurricane Irene largely avoided New York City, will give UK stocks a substantial boost when the market re-opens today after the long Bank Holiday weekend. GFT quotes two-way prices on stock indices around the clock, [...]