Odd jobs December 22, 2010 IT’S a busy time for us, the run up to Christmas, because we have six companies coming in for their carol concerts, big banks and law firms, and the local school also comes. Midnight mass on Christmas eve is the big one for us, and that is mostly for locals, we get about 150 or [...]
Breaking up is hard to do: partnership gets tricky when you’re asked to leave December 21, 2010 TINA WILLIAMS AND DANIEL SUTHERLAND WHEN is a partner not a partner? That was the question posed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the recent case of Tiffin v Lester Aldridge. It has long been accepted that employees can be given the title of partner without this affecting their status as salaried employees. Less [...]
Stockholm Syndrome and Dementors rule the law December 21, 2010 A HARD year for the City’s legal market is drawing to a close, and lawyers at those firms that haven’t cancelled their Christmas parties are looking forward to a booze-filled lead up to the New Year. And giving their two cents in RollOnFriday’s annual Firm of the Year survey. There seems to be little festive [...]
Currency wars and rate hikes: another year in emerging FX December 21, 2010 CHEAP money and attractive returns have seen investors plough their money into emerging market currencies. Yet hot money inflows have forced currency appreciation despite authorities’ best efforts at capital controls and other methods of weakening their exchange rates. Thanks to highly accommodative monetary policy in the West and efforts to remain competitive among the emerging [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS December 21, 2010 FOREX STRATEGIST ILYA SPIVAK My pick: Stay long dollar-yen Expertise: Global macro Average time frame of trades: 1 week-6 months I bought dollar-yen at ¥83.08 in mid-November expecting the pair to rise along with US Treasury yields after the size of the Federal Reserve’s QE matched expectations and opened the door for profit-taking. Prices pulled [...]
the bullish argument for the euro December 21, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT AS WE approach 2011, no currency is less liked than the euro. Only yesterday, the euro was at all-time lows against the Swiss franc with the pair sliding towards the SFr1.2500 level. It appears as though all of Europe is trying to exchange the single currency in favour of the [...]
THE TIPSTER December 21, 2010 SIGNIFICANTLY worse-than-expected public sector borrowing levels from the UK have somewhat eclipsed the marginal undershoot in German consumer confidence. As a result, the common currency is pushing higher against the pound. But for as long as the ratings agencies remain supportive of British efforts at fiscal reform then there’s a good argument to suggest sterling [...]
FTSE surges to a 30-month high as risk appetite boosted by strong US earnings December 21, 2010 MINERS and banks drove Britain’s top share index to a 30-month closing high yesterday, as risk appetite rose due to easing tensions on the Korean peninsula and upbeat earnings from US software maker Adobe Systems. The FTSE 100 index ended up 60.19 points, or one per cent, at 5,951.80, its highest close since early June [...]
Investor optimism drives shares on Wall St higher December 21, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as solid earnings and a flurry of merger activity underpinned a steady upward trend that reinforced investor optimism for the coming year. Financials led the way higher, continuing their December rally after underperforming the broader market for much of the year. The KBW bank index 1.9 per cent. Northern Trust, which [...]
Utility firms lift FTSE 100 as cold snap drives power sales December 20, 2010 UTILITY stocks helped push Britain’s top shares higher yesterday, as the UK’s near-Arctic conditions boosted demand for energy, but British Airways toiled as the big freeze disrupted airline services. The FTSE 100 closed up 19.86 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,891.61. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 closed up 6.33 points at 11,433.11. It touched a [...]