Equity indices have lost their momentum to rise further June 23, 2010 DESPITE continued fears of an economic slowdown, global equities had proved somewhat resilient over the last fortnight with traders jumping on any piece of good news as an excuse to buy. But the 10-session winning streak in the MSCI World Index snapped on Tuesday and the index of global stocks has now shed 1.4 per [...]
Expand beyond developed countries June 23, 2010 WITH growth in advanced economies forecast to be sclerotic for the near future, investors should look to capitalise on the more dynamic prospects of emerging markets (EM). The International Monetary Fund is forecasting that developed economies will shrink overall by 3.12 per cent this year versus developing economies’ growth of 6.14 per cent. One of [...]
THE TIPSTER June 23, 2010 TARGET A UK STOCKS RALLY ON THE FTSE 250 YESTERDAY’S sell-off could be another opportunity for investors to add to long positions of more UK-centric stocks. Following a Budget that was beneficial for UK companies, expect to see further gains, particularly given the announcement of a gradual reduction in corporation tax to 24 per cent [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS June 23, 2010 AMUNDI LAUNCHES SEVEN NEW ETFS Exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider Amundi has launched seven new fixed income ETFs on the Paris stock exchange, of which four are the first of their kind. One ETF will replicate the performance of the EuroMTS ex-AAA government index, which is composed of debt securities issued by the Eurozone states with [...]
New watchdog won’t scare City June 23, 2010 IT is only just over a year since Hector Sants, head of the Financial Services (FSA), told the City in no uncertain terms that he wanted business to be “very frightened” of his organisation. Central to that warning ran the theme of “credible deterrence” through increased criminal prosecution, particularly in relation to insider dealing. Despite [...]
In-house lawyers should defend themselves June 23, 2010 A RECENT opinion handed down by the advocate general in Brussels rejecting privilege for communications with in-house counsel threatens the status and future of in-house solicitors, and has caused significant concern to major companies and City lawyers. The background to the case was a dawn raid carried out by the Office of Fair Trading and [...]
Non-doms escape major crack-down in Budget June 22, 2010 NON-DOMS breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as the Budget fell short of the tough new tax avoidance measures some had been expecting. Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget said the coalition will “assess whether changes can be made to the current rules to ensure that non-domiciled individuals make a fair contribution to reducing the deficit, in [...]
Austerity won’t lead to a double-dip June 22, 2010 RESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM JANE FOLEY The pivotal question in the run-up to yesterday’s emergency Budget was whether it would knock the economy into a double-dip recession. This debate had been raging for months – indeed, the Labour Party campaigned hard on the assertion that too much austerity too soon could tip the economy back into [...]
US stocks dragged down by poor housing figures June 22, 2010 US stocks fell more than one per cent in yet another late-day selloff yesterday as unexpectedly poor housing figures and the puncture of a key technical level sapped buying interest. Stocks marked time in a thinly traded session until the S&P 500 fell through its 200-day moving average, which had been a basis of support [...]
Budget brings down bank shares but delay in VAT rise gives retailers a boost June 22, 2010 WEAKER commodity stocks pulled Britain’s top share index lower yesterday, while retailers got a lift from the first emergency Budget from Britain’s new coalition government after an expected valued added tax rise was delayed. At the close, the FTSE was down 52.1 points, or 1.0 per cent, at 5,246.98, having hit its highest closing level [...]