Stress test relief to provide a lift to markets on open July 17, 2011 AND the winner is…” direction for stocks this morning will be driven by the results of the European bank stress tests, which were released at 5pm on Friday, after European stock markets closed. A grand total of eight banks failed the tests, but that number was well below the worst fears of some analysts who [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT July 17, 2011 COMPANIES ● Today, Iceland Foods announces. Investors will hope it doesn’t get frosty results after news that Morrison may bid for some of its individual stores. ● IG reports tomorrow. The spread betting provider could soon be in the FTSE 100. ● On Thursday, the business process outsourcing company Capita will announce. It has been [...]
Meet the man behind the wheel at Addison Lee July 17, 2011 RECESSIONS are colonic irrigation for the economy,” John Griffin tells me, “all the crap gets washed out.” He smirks at me. “When things started going down the pan, I employed more staff. 150 drivers, 35 in the central office. I put my foot to the floor because everyone else started scaling back.” Griffin is a [...]
Commodity falls and fears for stress tests see FTSE decline July 14, 2011 FALLS among commodity issues sapped the strength of Britain’s top share index yesterday, as worries over global growth clouded the demand outlook for metals and oils. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 59.48 points, or one per cent at 5,846.95, reversing all and more of the previous session’s 0.6 per cent rally. [...]
Wall St sags on new Bernanke talk July 14, 2011 US STOCKS fell yesterday as new comments from the Federal Reserve chairman dashed investors’ hopes for the chance of further stimulus and tech shares pushed the Nasdaq down one per cent. During a second day of testimony about the economy, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that the US central bank would be ready to inject [...]
Commodities boost FTSE rise as China data elevates miners July 13, 2011 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 bounced yesterday, led by commodity stocks as economic data from China and soothing words from the US Federal Reserve raised hopes that stagnation in the global economic recovery might prove short-lived. Having fallen near five per cent over the previous three days, the mining sector rallied 1.8 per cent after China’s GDP [...]
Hints at QE3 cause mixed reactions July 13, 2011 US stocks stopped a three-day slide, but ended well off the highs yesterday as investors took the suggestion of further Federal Reserve stimulus as a mixed blessing. The three major US stock indexes rose more than one percent at their peaks after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the Fed would consider additional measures to support [...]
Unleashing a new breed of value funds July 13, 2011 THE Retail Distribution Review (RDR) will help transform the financial services industry. This transformation will give investors the choice, advice and service they deserve at much better value. The overall cost of investing is likely to fall as a result of RDR. Indeed, we have already started to see significant changes in how much it [...]
Six things we will get more of when RDR is introduced July 13, 2011 WHETHER investors are aware of it or not, the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) will shake up investing. Expect more regulation, professionalism, transparency, low-cost investments and investment trusts – but you should also assume we will get some unforeseen outcomes. 1. REGULATION Even though it is soon to be abolished, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is [...]
RDR must face up to the law of unintended consequences July 13, 2011 THE process of implementing the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) is gathering momentum. Over the next few months, expect it to leap into public consciousness. The impact for investors will be significant – but does RDR have staying power beyond the 31 December 2012 implementation deadline? Front and centre of RDR are three core aims: improving [...]