FTSE boosted by strong results from UK companies and Greek debt rescue April 29, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index rose yesterday, buoyed by consensus beating results from UK corporates and as anxiety over the Eurozone’s debt crisis eased, though BP sank as a major oil spill worsens. The FTSE 100 closed up 31.23 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 5,617.84, but the index remains down 1.9 per cent on the [...]
Wall Street hits high on robust corporate earnings April 29, 2010 US stocks chalked up their best day in nearly two months yesterday as investors welcomed a string of robust earnings reports, while Greece appeared close to a bailout deal, easing fears about a wider sovereign debt crisis. News that Greece was readying severe austerity measures to secure a multibillion euro aid package spurred widespread relief, [...]
All Child Trust Funds are not equal, so pick yours carefully April 29, 2010 WITH Child Trust Funds (CTF) turning five this month, families are being urged to view this anniversary as an opportunity to review the scheme they have in place. Launched in April 2005, CTFs were opened for all children born after 1 September 2002 with a £250 lump sum, rising to £500 for children from the [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS April 29, 2010 STATE-OWNED MORTGAGE LENDERS FAIL TO SATISFY State-owned mortgage providers are trailing behind smaller lenders and building societies for customer satisfaction, says a new survey from Which? Money. Bank of Scotland – part of Lloyds Banking Group – had the lowest score; just 41 per cent of customers were satisfied with the provider. Halifax (44 per [...]
Generating cash from caring April 29, 2010 IT’S NOT often that an entrepreneur comes up with a multi-million pound idea while out with his elderly aunts looking at care homes around the south of England. But that is what happened to ex-advertising whiz Mike Parsons. That was back in 1988. The dismal state of the care homes that he visited sparked an [...]
A rush to the exit can hurt your profits April 29, 2010 AFTER you’ve built a successful business you’re faced with a dilemma – what do you do now? You might stay and try to take the business to the next level, but what if you’re a serial entrepreneur or you have dreams of an early retirement? If you want out then you need to come up [...]
CURRENCY April 29, 2010 Q. Some of my revenues are generated in Europe. Since Greece was downgraded I am worried that the euro will continue to fall in value – what can I do? A.If you earn revenues in euros and then need to repatriate them back to the UK, future currency movements could hurt your bottom line. The [...]
New volatility products help investors to hedge April 28, 2010 EUROPE’s sovereign debt crisis has gained momentum this week after Greece’s debt was downgraded to junk status. Similar to the financial shock in 2008, this has rocked global stock indices and volatility has spiked higher in recent days. Volatility indices, such as the Vix in the US and VSTOXX in Europe, measure the “fear” in [...]
Don’t forget an ETF’s dividend April 28, 2010 WITH earnings season once again upon us, investors are turning their minds towards the possibility that their share holdings will pay them at least some dividend income. Although figures earlier this week from Capita Registrars showed that British firms paid out 2.5 per cent less in dividends in the first quarter than the same period [...]
THE TIPSTER April 28, 2010 BLANKET short selling restrictions have been brought in for shares listed in Greece, which could temporaily delay further falls in the local index especially against other euro nations. While this doesn’t prevent prices from falling, declines could be less marked. A short-term long position in Greek stocks is an interesting half of a pairs trade. [...]