FTSE hits lowest in over a year as volatility increases August 8, 2011 THE FTSE 100 fell for the seventh consecutive trading day yesterday, with investors continuing to drop stocks in favour of safer assets, unconvinced that governments and central banks have a grip on the global debt crisis. Miners, banks and integrated oil stocks led London’s blue-chip index down 178.04 points, or 3.4 per cent, to 5,068.95, [...]
US stocks plunge after panic selling August 8, 2011 US stocks plunged on yesterday, taking the S&P 500 down more than six per cent on growing fears of a recession, exacerbated by the loss of the country’s pristine triple-A credit rating. Panicked selling on heavy volume resulted in the S&P 500’s worst day since December 2008, with every stock in the benchmark index ending [...]
Four skills for trading when volatility is high August 8, 2011 A VOLATILE market can be an unforgiving beast, swinging wildly from bull to bear, as animal spirits rampage and investors take flight. The Vix index – a measure of market fear – broke through 40 yesterday, its highest reading since 25 May 2010, indicating that we are living once more in volatile times. Following the [...]
A POTENTIAL SILVER LINING IN THE STORM August 8, 2011 SO WHAT next for precious metals? Gold has made a succession of fresh highs over the past twelve months, and current events in Europe and the US have seen it reach higher once again this week. Back in May, silver came close to breaking above its record close of $50/oz, but it is currently trading [...]
Potential chaos as markets absorb US downgrade August 7, 2011 SO ratings agency Standard and Poor’s has downgraded US long-term sovereign debt, from AAA to AA+, with a negative outlook just for good measure. Cue potential market mayhem this morning as we are now in unchartered territory. My forecast this morning comes with a larger than usual health warning attached, as it’s likely to be [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD August 7, 2011 WALL Street hit the panic button last week and survived. But the shocks have left investors stranded. Following its worst week in almost three years, the S&P 500 has fallen into correction territory and year-end forecasts are being lowered. Safe havens like gold and the Swiss franc rallied. Economic growth has slowed and budget-cutting legislation [...]
Rolling out the printing press again August 7, 2011 DESPITE the promised abolition of boom and bust thanks to central bank intervention, the US economy seems to be in a phase that looks very much like a bust. As such, there is a growing likelihood that Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will be firing up the printing presses to fund a third round of quantitative [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT August 7, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Telecity announces today. It specialises in the design, build and management of highly connected, resilient and secure environments. Also announcing today is Vedanta, the FTSE 100 metals and mining company, whose business is principally located in India. ● Tomorrow, Intercontinental Hotels announces. Investors hope the results don’t cause sleepless nights. ● International [...]
THE TIPSTER August 7, 2011 The spectre of the global economy being plunged into recession saw oil prices sliding last week. The better than expected non-farm payroll reading may have served up some support in the short-term, but with question marks remaining over the impact of the US rating downgrade and the risk of the Eurozone debt crisis, those who [...]
Focus on: small businesses under the microscope August 7, 2011 WHEN T-Mobile called and asked if we wanted to sit in on one of their small business focus groups, we couldn’t say no. This year has been huge for entrepreneurs. The Prime Minister David Cameron passed them the gauntlet, asking them to revive our economy. So important he felt this responsibility, he dedicated his keynote [...]