As inflation rises, so can your profits March 7, 2010 WHATEVER the Bank of England might be telling us about a temporary spike in inflation, fund managers and analysts around the City are preparing themselves for a period of rising prices and adjusting their portfolios accordingly. Their reason? The parlous state of developed countries’ public finances combined with a weak recovery means that heavily indebted [...]
CITY INDEX March 7, 2010 Q.Dear Josh, how do stop losses work in relation to market gapping? A.I think it’s very important to understand how stop losses actually work, particularly in reference to market gapping. There are key differences between a guaranteed stop loss and a standard stop loss. A standard one is free of charge but it only closes [...]
Confidence in retail sector lifts Wall St March 4, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as better-than-expected monthly sales from retailers and a drop in the number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits pointed to stabilisation in the economy. The boost from February retail sales, which were expected to have been hurt by severe weather across the US, lifted retailers’ shares as the S&P retail [...]
A fly-away internet success March 4, 2010 THE entrance to Cheapflights, the flights comparison website, is based just off Baker Street and contains little more than a vintage advert for Pan Am that hangs on a wall and a couple of leather chairs. Its understated style is also embodied in executive chairman Hugo Burge. The Bedales and Cambridge-educated geographer was in his [...]
How to cope when a tragedy strikes March 4, 2010 ROSE Gray, the founder of the River Café who died earlier this week, is a loss to UK gastronomy. Gray’s passion for Italian food was embodied in the business she founded with Ruth Rogers in 1988. The Michelin-starred restaurant is sure to survive the loss of one of its founders. But her death should give [...]
FINANCE March 4, 2010 Q. I need to secure a loan to expand my business, but in this environment are banks still willing to lend? A.Yes, according to Stephen Alambritis, chief spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB): “Access to finance was a major problem last year, but the availability of money set aside specifically for small businesses [...]
FTSE rises as commodities and financials set the pace March 3, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares gained 0.9 per cent yesterday, boosted by strength in miners and oils, banks and life insurers, as upbeat US data lifted Wall Street. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 49.15 points higher at 5,533.21, ending at a seven-week peak on its fourth straight session of gains. “All the figures were pretty [...]
Fears over banking rules weigh on US March 3, 2010 US stocks ended little changed yesterday as worries about bank regulation and a setback for drug company Pfizer offset signs of improvement in the labor market and services sector. Pfizer, the world’s largest drugmaker, fell 1.6 per cent after its Alzheimer’s drug did not meet the main goals of a late-stage clinical trial, weighing on [...]
Tough economic climate and fiscal laxity to keep pressure on sterling March 3, 2010 JANE FOLEY RESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM IN CONTRAST to last month’s meeting, today’s decision by the Bank of England has not been billed as a headline event. February’s meeting had a much higher profile, thanks to its coincident timing with the quarterly inflation report, which gives the central bank a fresh set of growth and inflation [...]
Middle Eastern funds offer long term promise March 3, 2010 WHEN it comes to investing in emerging markets, few might choose the Middle East and North Africa over the opportunities offered by Asian powerhouses such as China and India. Not only are political tensions continuing to concern investors, the near-collapse of overstretched Dubai and the bailout by its neighbour Abu Dhabi is still fresh in [...]