Bitcoins are rising fast – but risky too May 31, 2011 RICKARD Falkvinge, the Swedish IT entrepreneur and founder of the first Pirate Party, has announced he is piling all his money into bitcoins, a digital currency that is attracting a lot of online interest. Although the technology is groundbreaking and its security substantial, Falkvinge is nevertheless taking a huge leap of faith. Satoshi Nakamoto, a [...]
THE TIPSTER May 31, 2011 PERIPHERAL Europe, the US budget impasse and escalating tightening measures in China remain the key drivers for commodity currencies and dollar crosses. Swiss franc pairs express these themes very well given Switzerland’s immense external position and strong output. As well as being a safe-haven, Swissie pairs are also benefiting from strong Swiss economic growth. Alpari [...]
Yen faces bleak long-term prospects May 31, 2011 IG INDEX CHRIS BEAUCHAMP The yen suffered a sharp drop on Tuesday following a double-whammy of bleak news for the Japanese economy. It fell initially after a report on April’s factory output showing growth was even lower than forecast, at 1 per cent rather than 2.2 per cent, and then retreated even further after Moody’s [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS May 31, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short euro-dollar and Kiwi dollar-dollar Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week Neither the euro-dollar nor Aussie dollar-dollar short setups from last week triggered, as risk appetite trends bounced and speculation for the end of QE2 failed to catch traction [...]
Muted gains for FTSE are expected with US payrolls May 30, 2011 WHILST UK and US stock markets were closed for an extended holiday weekend yesterday, other global markets struggled to find direction in thin volume, doing little more than drift sideways. Greek troubles continue to permeate investor caution. In out-of-hours trading, GFT is forecasting the UK index to edge higher, with prices suggesting an open of [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD May 30, 2011 THE world looks a lot more dangerous than it did only a few months ago and US stock investors are starting to demand more for the added risk. With important manufacturing and jobs data due this week, it could start to get even riskier. That means nervous investors are likely to keep a lid on [...]
Emerging markets are big business for the UK May 30, 2011 BRITAIN’S diverse business and professional services sector makes up a vital, under-recognised part of this country’s economy. Ranging from accounting and credit information to recruiting and management consulting, its companies are leading their competitors in capitalising on the development of emerging markets. AT THE VANGUARD The financial director of Hays, Paul Venables, says emerging markets [...]
SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE IS A KEY SERVICE May 30, 2011 IT SEEMS obvious for an insurer to say this, but health and safety matters. It saves many lives every year. It provides insurers and brokers with a reference point from which risk management strategies can be developed. At the same time, there has been misinterpretation and misapplication of health and safety law – and this [...]
From banking to betting: the gamble that paid off May 30, 2011 IF YOU didn’t have a dot-com idea at the end of the 90s, people looked at you in a slightly odd way,” says Ed Wray, the co-founder of Betfair. After eight years in the City at JP Morgan, he reached the role of vice president on the debt capital markets desk before finding his dot-com [...]
IPO INVESTORS VENT FACEBOOK FRUSTRATION May 30, 2011 FACEBOOK does curious things to people. Most recently, it has caused frustrated investors unable to get a slice of its profits to look to other social networks for gratification. When LinkedIn made its debut on the Nasdaq this month, within two days it was valued at $10.1bn (£6.2bn). In other words, a business that is [...]