Employers swap bonuses for tax-free pensions March 9, 2010 REMUNERATING high earning employees in a tax efficient way has always been difficult, and the recent interest in bonuses has made it even more tricky for employers. The introduction of the 50 per cent rate of taxation on those earning over £150,000 has also spurred many to look at ways to protect its high earners. [...]
Oil and minerals bolster FTSE index despite banking and drugmaker lows March 8, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index hit an 18-month closing high yesterday, led by oil stocks and miners, while drugmakers fell with AstraZeneca pressured after its cancer drug failed in trials. The FTSE 100 ended up 6.96 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,606.72, its highest close since 2 September 2008. The index gained 4.6 per cent [...]
Nasdaq boosted by rising tech share performance March 8, 2010 TECHNOLOGY shares pushed the Nasdaq higher yesterday on an otherwise flat day for US stocks. Cisco Systems, a Dow component, hit a 21-month high at $26.36 after JPMorgan Chase recommended the stock to investors. Research in Motion gained 5.6 per cent, leading the Nasdaq higher after an analyst’s upgrade. Sentiment also got a lift from [...]
Alternative exchanges give traders an edge March 8, 2010 ANOTHER shake-up of London’s trading landscape is underway after the London Stock Exchange (LSE) announced on Monday that it would sell 9 per cent of Turquoise, its European trading facility, to three investment banks. Barclays, JP Morgan Cazenove and Nomura each bought a 3 per cent stake of Turquoise for £1m. The multiple owners of [...]
VIX SUGGESTS TRADERS ARE NOT WORRIED March 8, 2010 DAVID MORRISON CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT THE first week of March saw stock markets strengthen further, taking us back up through significant retracement levels for a number of major global indices. Investors cheered on a successful Greek bond auction, boosted by the country’s newly-proposed austerity measures. Concerns over sovereign risk contagion have been brushed aside [...]
2010 is the year for small caps March 8, 2010 AFTER small caps’ excellent 2009, many were left wondering whether such a performance could be repeated in 2010. Neil Hermon, portfolio manager of the Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust, certainly thinks so. Hermon says that smaller companies have the ability to outperform this year thanks to a weak sterling and improved mergers and acquisitions (M&A) [...]
Stock markets head upwards March 7, 2010 EUROPEAN stock markets are headed for a positive start to the week, building on the momentum gained from Friday’s better-than-expected US unemployment rate. GFT is forecasting the UK’s FTSE 100 to open up 10 points from Friday’s close, at around 5,610. The German DAX is expected to open up nine points at 5,886 and the [...]
Economic Diary March 7, 2010 IT IS a busy week ahead on the economics front once again. While last week was dominated by central bank decisions from across the world and independent surveys, this week we will see a slew of statistics that may or may not confirm rebounding consumer confidence and output. UK February Sales figures due In the [...]
Media gets through its toughest trial yet March 7, 2010 THE X Factor winner for 2010 is… ITV. The broadcaster has managed to survive the economic crisis, albeit with a slimmed down staff base, and actually managed to turn a £25m profit at the end of last year, after losing £2.7bn in 2008. There could be more good news to come for the UK’s media [...]
THE TIPSTER March 7, 2010 IT IS easy to forget that only about a year ago, crude oil was treading water around the $35 a barrel mark. Today, however, crude is back up to above $80 and has continued to edge its way higher. On Friday, it managed to climb as high as $82 for the first time since early [...]