Return to normality will be bad news for the yen May 4, 2010 TODAY is the last day of Golden Week in Japan, one of the country’s most important public holidays. But the last few months have been anything but golden for the yen. The currency has fallen by more than 10 per cent against the US dollar and nearly 8 per cent against sterling. There are a [...]
CREDIT RISK WILL DECIDE EURO’S FATE May 4, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT THE initial reaction of the currency market to this weekend’s announcement of a €110bn rescue package for Greece was less than overwhelming. After a knee-jerk rally higher at open of trade, euro-dollar slumped all the way to $1.3200 and came within a few points of the lows for the year. [...]
Making returns on the Russian rouble just got a whole lot easier May 4, 2010 AT THE end of last week, the Russian central bank chose to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to encourage loan growth and stimulate the economy – despite mounting concerns about inflationary pressures. Bank Rossii has been making it increasingly clear that the monetary easing cycle is now slowing. Indeed, finance minister Alexei Kudrin [...]
FOREX FLASH May 4, 2010 AUSSIE CENTRAL BANK HIKES RATES AGAIN The Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday decided to increase the cost of borrowing for the sixth time in seven meetings. The benchmark rate is now at 4.5 per cent. The Australian dollar fell in the wake of the announcement to US$0.9189 as investors anticipated a pause in the coming [...]
The Tipster May 4, 2010 ALTHOUGH the situation in Greece has put enormous pressure on the euro, the Swiss franc has held remarkably firm above the SFr1.4320 level over the past month when you might have expected euro-Swiss franc to fall even further. The Swiss National Bank has been supporting the franc at around SFr1.4325 in a bid to prevent [...]
Australian mining tax and Greece’s EU bailout drag FTSE to a two-month low May 4, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell sharply yesterday to a two-month closing low as Eurozone debt contagion fears grew, hurting banks, and with miners hit by an Australian mining tax and concerns over tightening in China. The FTSE 100 closed down 142.18 points, or 2.6 per cent, at 5,411.11, its lowest close since early March. The [...]
Fears over looming debt crisis spook US markets May 4, 2010 INVESTORS dumped US stocks yesterday in Wall Street’s worst session in three months on the fear that even with a bailout for Greece, Europe’s debt crisis could spread to other weak euro zone countries. The sell-off echoed a wave of fear that gripped financial markets as investors fretted the crisis in Europe could derail the [...]
Majority of City lawyers support Tories May 4, 2010 HERE’S a thought: if our electorate comprised City lawyers – okay, maybe not that most appealing thought – the Tories would storm to an election win on Thursday. Legal Week magazine recently reckoned that almost two thirds of City partners (63 per cent) were backing Cameron. A survey by DLA Piper of 545 senior UK [...]
Parties ponder future of banking regulation May 4, 2010 PARTNER, FOX WILLIAMS LLP CRITICISM and reform of financial regulation is a political hot topic of debate and a powerful electoral tool. With the fast approaching general election and the narrowing lead in opinion polls between the main political parties, what exactly do Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have in store for financial [...]
Election night means bets for all you political punters May 3, 2010 TWO days to go and for the first time since 1992 there seems a real uncertainty about the result of this general election. Which makes spread betting on the event even more intriguing. And it doesn’t just mean betting simply on the next leader or the big party win, there are some cleverer ways to [...]