UK rate rise delay now expected by markets April 12, 2011 YESTERDAY’S drop in the consumer price index (CPI) inflation figure for March, from 4.4 to 4 per cent, surprised the markets. This sent sterling tumbling as expectations of a May rate rise evaporated. Weak retail figures compounded the gloomy outlook for the pound. Many traders seem to have been tipped off prior to the announcement, [...]
Quantitative easing: the hot money problem April 12, 2011 DESPITE murmurings to the contrary by various members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), it seems that the US Federal Reserve’s $600bn (£368bn) scheme to purchase Treasury bonds will run its full course, up to June as initially planned. But an intervention the size of QE2 cannot just come to a sudden halt and [...]
MECHANICAL TRADES KEEP EMOTION OUT April 12, 2011 CONSULTING ANALYST, INTERTRADER STEVE Ward once told me that there is no point in having a mechanical trading system if you are not going to follow it. He certainly has a valid point. I fondly remember the trading exercise that I put myself through in order to build trading discipline: pick a strategy and execute [...]
THE TIPSTER April 12, 2011 THOSE surprise inflation figures yesterday have served to put back the prospect of an MPC rate hike further still and it’s weighing hard on the pound as a result. With the Eurozone now temporarily over its sovereign debt crisis and rates starting to tick higher in Frankfurt, it’s perhaps no surprise that euro-sterling is rallying. [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS April 12, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short euro-dollar and Aussie dollar-dollar; long euro-kiwi dollar Expertise: Fundamental and Technical Analysis with Risk Management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week My long euro-yen position served me well, but I decided to book the second half of the position before the ECB’s decision, for [...]
For those without family connections, professional qualifications are a lifeline April 12, 2011 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (BRAND), ACCA LAST week, Nick Clegg launched the government’s new social mobility strategy to great fanfare. With slightly more fanfare, the press and opposition skipped over the strategy and focused on Clegg’s use of unpaid interns and the parental help he’d had to start his career. Amusing headlines – not if you’re Nick [...]
Report argues trading CFDs is on the increase April 11, 2011 ACCORDING to a report from Investment Trends, contracts for difference (CFD) trading is on the rise, with trader numbers increasing from 18,000 to 25,000 in the year to October 2010. The figures are based on a large online survey of UK traders. As well as showing that the number of CFD traders rose by almost [...]
RISING COSTS CAST SHADOW ON EARNINGS April 11, 2011 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT AFTER months of pressure, Portugal finally gave in last week and approached the European Commission for financial aid. This caused widespread relief, as the EU has been desperate to create a firewall between Greece, Ireland and Portugal and the rest of the Eurozone. The consensus is that this latest bailout will [...]
Prices soar, but don’t sell the family silver any time soon April 11, 2011 LAST week saw silver break the $40 a troy ounce barrier for the first time since 1980. Though contracts for difference (CFD) traders may be getting wide eyed about the potential for $50 silver prices, they should be cautious about setting their sights too high. In common with gold, flight into silver is primarily driven [...]
THE TIPSTER AIRLINES, ENERGY, NEWS AND BOOKIES April 11, 2011 RISING fuel prices and the ongoing threat of industrial action at its British Airways division is making it a difficult time for International Consolidated Airlines, despite last week’s encouraging traffic figures. Clearly any progress in the Libya situation may help ease oil prices and in turn give the sector as a whole something of a [...]