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. [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS April 28, 2010 MARKIT TO LAUNCH ETF ENCYCLOPEDIAJESSICA MEAD Global financial information services company Markit announced earlier this week that it would launch Markit ETF Services, a a package of products that includes an encyclopedia, trade data and ETF dividends. The encyclopedia is a global reference database of all 2,700 ETFs available worldwide, categorised by asset class, type, region [...]
FTSE drops after Spain downgrade April 28, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed lower yesterday, extending the previous session’s steep falls, after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s credit rating to AA, overshadowing strong corporate earnings. The FTSE 100 index closed down 16.91 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,586.61, after it tumbled 2.6 per cent on Tuesday — its biggest one-day [...]
Fed’s cheer on economy boosts Dow April 28, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday after the Federal Reserve pointed to signs of strength in the economy, comments that gave some relief to investors worried about possible debt defaults in Europe. The Fed’s comments on the economy and its statement that it would keep interest rates low for an extended period lifted bank shares. BKW Bank [...]
The man who thinks MBAs should make ethics centre stage in the boardroom April 28, 2010 AROUND a year ago, in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and in the midst of governments bailouts, a group of Harvard Business School MBA students decided to create an oath that would help to promote more ethical behaviour in business. They were stung by criticism of MBAs, who were blamed by some [...]