THE TIPSTER February 28, 2010 Oil continues to struggle around the $80 mark, after weak economic data in the UK. If western economies stall then demand for crude oil will fall, which will lead to lower prices. Another factor that could weigh on the oil price is weak employment figures in the US. As we approach the summer driving season, [...]
Traders look to Bank for rates guidance February 28, 2010 It is going to be an exciting week in the financial markets with the Bank of England and the European Central Bank scheduled to make monetary policy announcements. Rate decisions are always a big deal for stocks, bonds and currencies but now more than ever the outlook for these instruments will hinge upon the outlook [...]
Economic Diary February 28, 2010 DATA on Friday showing Britain grew by 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter dampened speculation that the Bank of England would change policy on Thursday. Purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) out this week for the UK should also confirm the continued rebound in the UK economy in spite of the disruption caused by the cold [...]
London’s top shares tumble as oil and mining companies slip February 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares fell 1.2 per cent yesterday, sliding back in the afternoon in tandem with New York stocks, with miners and oils the main drag as commodity prices fell back pressured by a firmer US dollar. By the close, the FTSE 100 index was 64.69 points lower at 5,278.23, reversing again after Wednesday’s 0.5 [...]
Wall St rocked by weak labour data February 25, 2010 US stocks recovered most of their losses but ended lower yesterday after weak employment and durable goods data added to recent worries about the strength of the economic recovery. Trading started on a sour note, but rumors of a 4-for-1 stock split planned by Apple coincided with a late-day rebound in stocks. A spokesman said [...]
Fiscal tightening is a delicate matter February 25, 2010 TODAY we should get confirmation that Britain emerged from recession in the last quarter of 2009, when the expectation is that the previous figure will be revised higher. Not a single economist polled by Bloomberg thinks that fourth quarter GDP data will be revised lower – the majority see an upward revision to 0.2 per [...]
Doing God’s work in the City February 25, 2010 LLOYD Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, caused a stir when he said the bank was doing “God’s work”. Well, perhaps he should meet Mark Speeks, the managing partner and co-founder of Acuity Capital, a private equity firm based in the City, who is also an assistant priest at St Botolph’s church in Aldgate. [...]
Transparent privacy policy gets clouded February 25, 2010 GOOGLE has got itself in hot water in recent days because of a data protection slip up with its new social network, Buzz. Users were able to see other members’ email addresses – and the addresses of their “followers”– without notification or the need to grant people access to this information. The company is now [...]
HIRING February 25, 2010 Q. Since I set up my business, it has just been me and my partners. But we are doing well and we want to start hiring. How do I go about it? A.There are two ways to hire staff, says Stuart Hearn from Plus HR, a consultancy. The first is to use an agency, which [...]
Sovereign Oilfield collapses into administration as debt talks fail February 24, 2010 OIL engineering company Sovereign Oilfield Group called in the administrators yesterday after talks with its lenders to renegotiate the terms of its debt failed. The Aberdeen-based company appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as administrator after failing to sell off parts of itself to pay down debt. PricewaterhouseCoopers said it would look to sell Sovereign Oilfield’s subsidiaries where it [...]