Position yourself now for a yuan revaluation April 13, 2010 CHINA’S premier Hu Jintao might have upheld his steely resistance to any pressure from the US to revalue the yuan yesterday, but there is little doubt that it is a question of when Beijing will revalue, not if. Although Chinese officials have always been very clear that any move would be gradual, an appreciation of [...]
CONSUMER IS KEY FOR THE US DOLLAR April 13, 2010 BORIS SCHLOSSBERG DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT WITH the EU rescue package for Greece in place, some of the more immediate concerns that plagued the euro have been addressed, but the currency markets are still sceptical as to whether the Greek bail-out solution will be enough to quell sovereign debt worries. Until and unless the [...]
FOREX FLASH April 13, 2010 REAL STRENGTH The strength of Brazil’s economy should be the envy of Europe. Domestic demand has surged in recent months and central bank president Henrique Meirelles fuelled speculation that he will raise interest rates in two weeks time when he said on Monday that his job was to stop the economy from overheating. Currently interest [...]
THE TIPSTER April 13, 2010 THERE has been speculation in the markets that the Turkish central bank (TCMB) will begin tightening monetary policy in the coming months thanks to strong fourth quarter GDP growth of 6 per cent and inflation of 9.6 per cent in March. Currency traders should be looking out for any hawkish signs from the TCMB for [...]
China is setting the stage now for a yuan revaluation this summer April 12, 2010 THERE had been speculation that the Chinese authorities would use this weekend’s Bo’ao Forum – billed as China’s Davos – to announce a revaluation of the yuan. While observers hoping for a move were disappointed, there have been signs over recent weeks that Beijing is laying the groundwork, both in the financial markets and in [...]
Banks and energy companies push the FTSE slightly higher but miners struggle April 12, 2010 Gains from banks and energy stocks outweighed weaker miners to leave Britain’s top share index slightly higher by the close yesterday, as anxiety about debt-plagued Greece eased, supporting risk appetite. The FTSE 100 ended the day 6.67 points higher at 5,777.65, slipping back after hitting an intra-day peak since June 2008 of 5,803.71 early in [...]
New York hits 11,000 on higher earnings forecasts April 12, 2010 The Dow industrials closed above 11,000 for the first time in almost 19 months yesterday as expectations of solid first-quarter earnings spurred buying in financial, energy and industrial sectors. Even so, some investors said stock prices already reflect lofty expectations for first-quarter results, with both the Dow and the S&P 500 near 19-month highs. “People [...]
European stocks are worth a long position April 12, 2010 IN THE next few weeks we should get a better idea of how far the economic recovery has boosted profits at Europe’s largest companies as they report first quarter earnings. So far consensus estimates for earnings growth this year is a whopping 39 per cent up on last year. This week French luxury goods group [...]
US EQUITIES NEED TO SEE RISING SALES April 12, 2010 DAVID MORRISON CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT IT IS US earnings season again. As soon as one quarter is over, investors have to begin assimilating the next set of numbers. Traders are already poring over Alcoa’s earnings – the world’s third biggest aluminium producer unofficially heralds each quarter’s reporting season, and it announced its results last [...]
Greek rescue deal will spur markets April 11, 2010 UK and European stock markets are heading for a cautiously positive start to the week, spurred on by the news that a rescue package for Greece has been approved. GFT is quoting the FTSE 100 index to open up 10 points from Friday’s close, at a level of 5,780. The German DAX is also expected [...]