Scandinavia is protected from Europe’s crisis May 18, 2010 IF YOU’VE read the popular Millennium Trilogy by Swedish crime author Stieg Larsson, any clichéd idea you may have had that Sweden is some kind of socially liberal paradise will have been put to the test. If there’s any truth beneath Larsson’s fiction, it’s that, like any European country, Sweden has its fair share of [...]
TIME TO SELL UP IN MAY AND GO AWAY May 18, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT IS the UK the next Greece? Some analysts in the currency market are starting to think so. Last weekend’s revelations that the former Labour government boosted spending by £12bn in the final days of its administration pushed cable to fresh yearly lows of $1.4250. With a budget deficit of nearly [...]
The euro is still looking overvalued May 18, 2010 THE euro has taken a breather. After a steep decline last week the single currency has gained some ground against the US dollar, and has stabilised around the $1.24 level. This has commentators asking out loud if the euro is now due a correction higher. But is it a good time to take a long [...]
THE TIPSTER May 18, 2010 THE decline in the oil price has seen the Canadian dollar slide against the resurgent greenback from its recent flirtation with parity. Due to the link between the oil price and the Canadian currency, since Canada is a major producer of oil, any further weakness in the oil price could well undermine the loonie further. [...]
Proposed cap on migration just a smoke screen May 18, 2010 PARTNER, LEWIS SILKIN APART from the economy, the most hotly debated issue between the three major parties in the election was immigration. The policies of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were completely at odds; the Conservatives favouring a cap on migration and the Liberal Democrats an amnesty for illegal immigrants. Now the negotiations to form [...]
More clarity is needed to stop market mix-ups May 18, 2010 PARTNER, REED SMITH INVESTOR claims for mis-selling of derivatives inevitably follow market collapses. So do calls for regulatory reform. A primary objective of financial services regulation is to protect investors. This cannot mean ensuring that buyers and sellers of derivatives will never suffer a loss. The derivatives market is a zero sum game: market participants [...]
FTSE ends day flat on debt jitters as Vodafone rises and travel groups fall May 17, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares ended flat yesterday as jitters over Europe’s debt eroded early gains, with miners weak on demand concerns and travel firms hit by the Icelandic ash cloud. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.3 points at 5,262.54 after it fell 3.1 per cent on Friday, punished by anxiety over the euro zone debt crisis. [...]
Bargain hunters help Wall Street to stage a recovery May 17, 2010 US stocks staged a comeback in late trading yesterday as bargain hunters snapped up beaten-down shares, setting aside concerns that efforts to tackle the Eurozone debt crisis could stifle the global economy. Retailers Wal-Mart and Target also rose ahead of earnings later in the week. Shares of Wal-Mart rose 1.2 per cent to $52.73 and [...]
Look to the stock markets for direction on the oil price May 17, 2010 THE sense of crisis stalking Eurozone economies has coincided with a steep drop in the oil price. It has fallen 17 per cent in the last fortnight and the benchmark Nymex oil price is currently trading at close to $71.85 per barrel. But, even after this drop in price, some oil analysts are standing by [...]
EUROPEAN TROUBLES HURT ASIA May 17, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT THE European bailout package stunned traders and investors alike. Initially, hopes were high that it would help shore-up confidence. But looking at the markets’ reaction to last weekend’s announcement, European leaders must be extremely concerned by the results so far. Over the course of the week, European stock indices managed to [...]