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 [...]
FTSE crashes to lowest level in 11 months on Euro turmoil August 4, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index tumbled and closed lower for the fifth consecutive trading day yesterday, depressed by global growth concerns and sovereign debt worries ahead of key US jobs data. Inmarsat shares plunged 19.3 per cent, hitting their lowest level in more than two and a half years after the satellite operator abandoned growth forecasts [...]
Wall St sees worst selloff in two years August 4, 2011 Investors fled Wall Street yesterday in the worst stock-market selloff since the depths of the recession in early 2009, in what has turned into a full-fledged correction. The Dow and the S&P tumbled more than four per cent and the Nasdaq lost five per cent on fears that the US is staring at another recession [...]
Commodities make losing streak worse August 3, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell more than two per cent yesterday, driven lower by uncertainty over global growth, with commodity stocks heading the list of fallers. The FTSE 100 sank to its lowest closing level since November 2010, dropping 133.88 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 5,584.51, extending its losing streak to four days. Integrated [...]
US markets close ahead August 3, 2011 US stocks ended higher yesterday, snapping a seven-day losing streak by the S&P 500, but worries about the economy kept trading volatile. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 29.82 points, or 0.25 per cent, to end at 11,896. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 6.29 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 1,260. The [...]