Sovereign risks mean gold retains some of its sparkle April 18, 2010 HAD you bought gold back in 2000, you would have paid around just under $300 an ounce. Even taking into account the effect of inflation, this seems an absolute bargain compared to the current price of $1,138. But this decade-long bull run in gold may be coming to an end, says Philip Klapwijk, chairman of [...]
SPREAD BET GURU April 18, 2010 MARKET STRATEGIST josh@cityindex.com Q. Dear Josh, JP Morgan’s earnings were very good, what will this mean for the other banks? A. I take a balanced view on this. That JP Morgan announced much better earnings than the market had first anticipated, a 57 per cent rise in profits, is a good sign for the bank [...]
Demand for bank shares lifts FTSE 100 to a 22-month high April 15, 2010 THE FTSE 100 share index hit a 22-month high for the second day yesterday, as US data and earnings reports fanned hopes that a recovery in the world’s largest economy was gathering pace, with banks also buoyed by bullish broker comment. The FTSE 100 closed 28.76 points higher at 5,825.01 – its highest close since [...]
Transport shares boost Wall Street April 15, 2010 US stocks posted their sixth straight day of gains yesterday as an encouraging profit forecast from United Parcel Service (UPS) lifted transportation shares, though concerns about a rise in weekly jobless claims limited the market’s advance. Financial stocks weighed on the S&P 500 as they gave back some gains after Wednesday’s strong rally. UPS posted [...]
If you fix your mortgage now pick carefully April 15, 2010 EARLIER this week we learned that mortgage applications climbed back to pre-recession levels last month. Research from mortgage broker Countrywide showed that a growing number of Britons are now choosing fixed products rather than flexible tracker mortgages. Fixed products made up 61 per cent of applications in March – an increase of 4 per cent [...]
Software king bounces back April 15, 2010 WHEN Michael Jackson joined the board as non-executive chairman of online gambling firm PartyGaming in 2005, he knew that he had kissed goodbye his chance to join what he calls the City’s “great and the good”. PartyGaming’s US business was under scrutiny and subsequently it chose to close down its US operations as a result [...]
Weighing up that big move overseas April 15, 2010 IN THE past two weeks BlueCrest, one of the largest hedge funds in the City, and chemicals group Ineos have both announced they are leaving the UK for tax reasons, relocating to Guernsey and Switzerland. But will the UK’s tax and regulation laws force entrepreneurs to do the same? Yes, says David Kilshaw, partner at [...]
SALES April 15, 2010 Q. I have recently started my own business but I don’t have much experience with selling, are there any techniques I should learn? A. The first thing about being successful at sales is to have the right attitude. Forget the old, hard image of sales. Modern selling is consultative, says Edward Dulson, managing director of [...]
FTSE 100 hits 22-month high as solid US results boost investor sentiment April 14, 2010 BRITAIN’s top share index hit a 22-month closing high yesterday, as solid results from JP Morgan and Intel and strong US retail sales lifted hopes that a recovery in the world’s biggest economy is gaining momentum. The FTSE 100 closed up 34.59 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 5,796.25 — its highest close since June [...]
S&P soars through 1,200 as JPMorgan results cheer April 14, 2010 US stocks notched a fifth straight day of gains as stronger corporate results and March retail sales pushed the S&P 500 past 1,200 for the first time in 18 months. Dow components Intel and JPMorgan Chase paced the market after both posted strong results. JP Morgan was up four per cent on the Dow to [...]