WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD May 8, 2011 US stock investors head into this week with added worries about the sustainability of the recent rally and a desire to reduce risk, as shown by the stampede out of commodities on Thursday. Stocks also will begin to lose the support they have enjoyed from stronger-than-expected earnings, with the first-quarter reporting period nearing an end. [...]
For Cheapflights, profits go with sky-high growth May 8, 2011 INTERNET businesses are rarely fast growing and profitable at the same time,” David Soskin tells me. He should know: he once headed up the media sector of ABN Amro’s corporate finance wing. But as Soskin proudly points out, this has never been the case for the flight price comparison website Cheapflights – the company he [...]
The new paradigm: raising capital in 2011 May 8, 2011 TO BE a successful entrepreneur you have to gain an unfair advantage over your competitors. While this can come in any number of forms depending on your business, it is indisputable that superior knowledge and contacts will give you an edge over your rivals. This is no easy business, but, fear not, City A.M. can [...]
TRY WRITING LIKE A HUMAN, NOT A BUSINESS May 8, 2011 PEOPLE tend to speak differently depending on who they’re talking to. Ask any American tourist who comes out with a brogue he never knew he had while visiting Ireland for the first time. It’s born out of a good instinct: the desire to connect with those we speak to. When you talk like your conversation [...]
Four reasons why the Eurozone may survive – and two reasons it won’t May 8, 2011 1 COMMITTED TO AUSTERITY Despite (well denied) rumours at the end of last week about a Greek pullout from the euro, Greece, Spain and Ireland are less opposed to reform and austerity than many in the media would have us believe. In Ireland, the electorate remember the prosperity of the Celtic Tiger years and want [...]
Commodity dive is a correction not a complete collapse May 8, 2011 DESPITE last week’s precipitous fall in commodities, not all fell equally and not all will stay low. Excepting the case of silver, this wasn’t the sound of bubbles popping. As such, investors and traders should not exit the whole asset class. Sentiment has certainly shifted, but the fundamentals behind the price and prospect of each [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT May 8, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Today, energy company Centrica delivers a trading statement and holds its AGM. ● Also today, HSBC delivers its first quarter trading update. The update includes more financial details than previous quarterly updates. Pre-tax profits are expected to rise. ● Serco also holds its AGM today. The FTSE 100 company was founded in [...]
Upward trend in crude hasn’t been terminated: Oil’ll be back May 8, 2011 AFTER a long sustained period of rising oil prices, many traders had their fingers burnt in last week’s commodity crash. Though with 20-20 hindsight it is easy to say that there was inevitably going to be a bump in the road for the black gold, many are smarting from the hit. This year has seen [...]
THE TIPSTER May 8, 2011 SILVER saw its biggest drop since 1980 on Thursday and has declined a massive 30 per cent since hitting its all time high at the end of April. The unwritten rule is that a fall of 20 per cent marks the start of a new bear market, but considering that the bulk of the selling [...]
Lloyds leads slide in banking stocks as FTSE loses ground May 5, 2011 SLIDING commodity prices thumped energy stocks and miners while Lloyds Banking Group led financials down, pulling Britain’s top share index lower yesterday, with technicals pointing to further weakness. Bearish investors came to the fore as heavyweight commodity stocks Royal Dutch Shell and Lonmin fell 1.8 and 4.1 per cent respectively on lower crude and metal [...]