Data undermines hopes of recovery February 23, 2010 US stocks suffered their biggest one-day decline in nearly three weeks yesterday after a sharp drop in consumer confidence heightened worries over one of the most vulnerable areas of the economy. Consumer confidence in February slumped to a 10-month low as the short-term outlook on jobs worsened. Results from retailers added little hope, as bellwethers [...]
Copenhagen’s lack of detail is a blow for low- carbon business February 23, 2010 JUST over two months since the final all-night negotiations which went into finalising the Copenhagen Accord, viewpoints on the outcome of the Copenhagen climate change conference (COP15) have been extremely mixed. On the positive side, the Copenhagen Accord has been described as an “important political tool”, “vital first step”, or in the words of President [...]
GlaxoSmithKline and British American Tobacco under pressure as FTSE falls February 22, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed slightly lower yesterday, snapping a five-day winning streak, as weakness from defensive stocks countered gains from banks ahead of more results from the financial sector later in the week. The FTSE 100 closed down 6.10 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,352.07, having closed up 0.6 per cent on Friday [...]
Wall Street waits for Bernanke’s view on growth February 22, 2010 US stocks finished flat yesterday as investors held back before congressional testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, while scattered buying lifted shares of health insurers and banks. President Barack Obama revised plans for an overhaul of US healthcare. The Morgan Stanley healthcare payor index rose 1.7 per cent, but investors said financial shares bene fited [...]
Conditions are brewing for strong coffee prices February 22, 2010 WHILE the surge in sugar has dominated the headlines and the commodity markets over the past six months, prices of other soft commodities such as coffee have been steadily rising. Coffee has risen 23.2 per cent over the past year and there is now speculation that it could be the next bull story in the [...]
GILT MARKET REVEALS LESS DESIRABLE UK February 22, 2010 OVER the past two weeks, stock markets across Europe and the US have stabilised following a nasty New Year sell-off. The US fourth quarter earnings season began badly and this seemed to be the catalyst for an aggressive bout of profit-taking. Even as it became apparent that the vast majority of companies would end up [...]
Use pharma to ease the pain February 22, 2010 THE last few weeks have been torrid for UK drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline. It has been accused of taking insuffucient action over allegations that its diabetes drug Avendia causes heart attacks. This comes hot on the heels of a $1bn settlement over claims its antidepressent Paxil, causes birth defects. Its share price has fallen more than [...]
CFD ANALYST PICKS February 22, 2010 TECHNICAL STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Sell gold at $1,115 Expertise: Technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 5-10 days Our short gold trade from the previous week has been triggered and a new lower top now looks to be in place at $1,127. The market is adhering to the downtrend in gold that has [...]
Managers must know where to draw the line between banter and bullying February 22, 2010 THE accusations of staff bullying by the prime minister might sound familiar to many in the City. Whatever the truth or not of the weekend’s stories, workplace bullying is seen by many as a serious problem, and it can certainly be costly for companies. In 2003 a Cantor Fitzgerald trader, Steven Horkulak, was awarded almost [...]
WORKPLACE HARASSMENT | THE LEGAL VIEW February 22, 2010 THERE is no legal definition or claim for bullying, (writes Paul Reeves), so what employees mean legally is harassment, which is a stand-alone claim. There is also a potential civil and criminal claim under the Protection from Harassment Act. Employees who feel they are being harassed should firstly approach their line manager (if appropriate). If [...]