Financial institutions and commodities help London’s top stocks to gain ground March 10, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index added 0.7 per cent yesterday, buoyed by strength in commodity issues, supported by trade data from China, and in banks and insurers as Wall Street put in an early advance. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 38.27 points higher at 5,640.57, a 20-month peak, at levels not seen since June [...]
Banking boost cheers up investors on Wall Street March 10, 2010 BANK and technology shares lifted Wall Street yesterday on hopes a revival in business demand will boost corporate profits. Banks’ shares rallied to their highest in 16 months, adding to recent momentum, amid bets an improving economy will stoke loan demand. “The natural conclusion investors are making is, if the economy is turning, financials are [...]
Gain an insight into markets by looking at yield curves March 10, 2010 MOORAD CHOUDHRY HEAD OF TREASURY, EUROPE ARAB BANK WHILE not necessarily as zealous as Ronald Ryan – the preface of his 1997 book Yield Curve Dynamics contains the immortal line “God bless the yield curve” – I happily and enthusiastically recommend that all investors, whatever their market, pay careful attention to the yield curve, its [...]
THE TIPSTER March 10, 2010 HOMEBUILDER Barratt Homes is proving an interesting punt at the moment after speculation that rival Persimmon is mounting a bid of 170p per share. Barratt would make an interesting purchase as it is trading at a significant discount to its net asset value and has a large bank of land. ETX Capital is quoting 122.21p-122.79p. [...]
Gold isn’t the only metal to shine this year March 10, 2010 THE recent wobble in the financial markets highlights the fragile state of the economic recovery. One minute risky assets looked like they will perform strongly, and the next investors were rushing to safe-havens. What investors look for in this environment is a safe-haven asset with risk-like characteristics. Platinum and palladium could be just the ticket. [...]
Inflows into ETFs can guide future success March 10, 2010 ANNIVERSARIES are dominating the thoughts of investors this week. Yesterday marked 10 years since the Nasdaq crashed in the wake of the dotcom bubble. And a year ago this week, the US and UK stock markets both troughed, heralding the start of an almost miraculous rise in equities over the past year which many observers [...]
INVESTORS’ GLOSSARY March 10, 2010 TIME DECAY This refers to the ratio of the price of a covered warrant relative to its time to expiry. A covered warrant is referred to as a wasted asset, which means its value deteriorates over time. For example, a covered warrant entitles the holder to purchase stock at a specified price (strike price) on [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS March 10, 2010 DEUTSCHE OFFERS INDONESIA ETF Deutsche Bank’s ETF division db x-trackers has launched the world’s first UCITS III-compliant China and Indonesia ETFs. Listed in Singapore, the China ETF tracks the CSI 300, which replicates the performance of A-shares that are listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen indexes. DB x-trackers is scheduled to launch the Indonesia ETF, [...]
Companies need to do more to bring women to the boardroom March 10, 2010 KATHRYN Bigelow’s Oscar triumph was certainly timely, the filmmaker becoming the first female recipient of the Best Director gong on the eve of International Women’s Day, Monday’s global celebration of women’s achievements. However, there are few signs that Bigelow represents a growing vanguard of women filmmakers, her industry being just one more in which the [...]
CAREERS CLINIC March 10, 2010 MICHAEL MORAN DIRECTOR, FAIRPLACE I’ve got a job interview coming up that I’m quite nervous about. What can I do in advance to improve my chances? The way you prepare for an interview is just as important as the way you perform when you’re actually there, and if you just turn up having only vaguely [...]