Goldman results limit market gains April 19, 2011 ENCOURAGING results from health care and materials companies lifted US stocks yesterday, but weak earnings from Goldman Sachs limited gains in a market skeptical of the growth outlook. Investors were reluctant to make big bets as the market readied for a spate of high-profile earnings. Volume was extremely low, with 6.56bn shares traded on the [...]
The dollar after S&P’s decision to downgrade April 19, 2011 YESTERDAY’S news of the downgrading of the sovereign debt outlook of the United States rocked markets on both sides of the Atlantic. The debt ratings agency Standard and Poor’s cut the long term outlook for the US from stable to negative for first time since the Pearl Harbor attack 70 years ago. S&P pointed to [...]
FEAR OF GREEK HAIRCUT CAPS EURO’S RALLY April 19, 2011 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT FOR the past several months, the euro-dollar has been like the Terminator. Nothing could slow down its progress as markets ignored all sovereign debt problems in the periphery and focused only on yield differentials. A hawkish European Central Bank (ECB), which raised rates by 25 basis points last month, stood [...]
Euro is close to suffering the knockout blow as trouble rises April 19, 2011 THE euro is facing so many existential threats that markets don’t know where to look: anti-bailout elections have rocked Finland; umbrage is growing across Germany; austerity tightening is squeezing Portugal; Greece is on the precipice; banks are junked in Ireland; and jitters grow in Spain. POPULISM IN FINLAND In Sunday’s Finnish elections, the True Finns [...]
MY CHECKLIST THAT GETS ME SET TO TRADE April 19, 2011 CONSULTING ANALYST, INTERTRADER I’D LIKE to start my final column by inviting you to a round-up webinar taking place 5 May 2011 at 8pm. It’s free and will be an opportunity for you to ask questions and see the strategies I have described over the last eight weeks. Register on: intertrader.omnovia.com/webcasts. Before I sign out, [...]
THE TIPSTER April 19, 2011 In spite of the denial of talks between the Greek authorities and the EU on debt restructuring, the markets are losing faith in the single currency. This week’s trading has seen the euro drop against the dollar to lows of $1.4200, so we are seeing early signs that the upward trend might be broken. Cantor [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS April 19, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short Kiwi dollar-dollar, Short euro-dollar, long dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental and Technical Analysis with Risk Management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week None of my setups from last week played out as a meaningful risk aversion move was still absent. We may have seen such a [...]
Use Fibonacci numbers to aid trading gains April 19, 2011 THE use of Fibonacci numbers to predict stock market movements is not something on which there is a universal consensus. Some swear by them while some see them as a lot of nonsense. Whatever your view, it may be worth taking a look at this example of a system that can often track market reversals [...]
US rate warning hammers FTSE to April’s lowest close April 18, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares fell sharply yesterday as ratings agency S&P cut its US credit outlook to negative, but some investors doubt this will spur a much more significant flight from risky assets than already seen. The FTSE 100 closed down 125.93 points, or 2.1 per cent, at 5,870.08, its lowest close since 23 March. Just [...]
Downgrade sparks sell off on Wall St April 18, 2011 THE US stock market tumbled in heavy volume yesterday as Standard & Poor’s downgraded the credit outlook of the United States, adding to worries about the global economy after China moved to curb liquidity. Investors also focused on Greece, where financial markets are increasingly convinced the country will have to renegotiate the terms of its [...]