Banking levy hangs over S&P financials January 12, 2010 US stocks slid in a broad sell-off yesterday as investors pummeled financials on concerns about a potential government levy on banks, while Alcoa’s disappointing results tempered optimism about the economic recovery. The benchmark S&P 500 broke a six-day streak of gains as banks led the financial sector lower, sending the KBW bank index down almost [...]
Even in 2010, some gay lawyers say coming out can damage your career January 12, 2010 AN article counselling young gay lawyers on the tricky matters of etiquette for coming out at work includes the following advice: “Do take your significant other to the firm’s Christmas party… probably best to avoid getting heroically drunk and snogging to slow numbers”. Perhaps it’s no surprise that it has proved a controversial New Year [...]
FINES ALONE WON’T MAKE FSA CREDIBLE January 12, 2010 ROBERT FALKNER REED SMITH LLP LAST year the FSA began talking the talk, with a number of policy speeches about the need for enforcement to “deliver credible deterrence”. Indeed, 2009 was a record year for bank fines. FSA rules for the registration of directors and senior managers – persons holding significant influence functions – for [...]
UK insurers flourishing following a benign 2009 January 11, 2010 BAD weather is normally bad news for insurers, as householders claim for snow, flood and wind-induced problems with their homes. However, despite roofs leaking and boilers breaking down all over the UK at the moment , the non-life insurance sector is actually looking pretty attractive for investors. The insurance sector is poised to deliver returns [...]
JAPAN CAN’T RESCUE ITSELF BY SPENDING January 11, 2010 DAVID MORRISON CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT LAST month I pointed out that the Nikkei’s chart looked terrible and said that Japan’s economic fundamentals were grim – national debt is around 200 per cent of GDP (and rising) and the country’s demographics look terrible. While other major indices had ground steadily higher following a shallow summer [...]
Orange futures still promising juicy returns January 11, 2010 AS TEMPERATURES plunged across Europe and much of the US last week, the price of orange juice futures was far from frozen. Bitterly cold temperatures and a rare frost in Florida sent the price of March 2010 futures surging to a two-year high of 151.15 cents. The contract surged as much as 18 per cent [...]
Strength in energy issues is offset by weakness in miners January 11, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index ended flat yesterday with strength in energy issues countering a sell-off in miners, weak financial issues and uncertain progress on Wall Street. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 3.83 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,538.07, having touched a 16-month intraday peak of 5,600.48 early in the session. [...]
Dow edges up as China data cheers January 11, 2010 US industrial shares lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 yesterday to new 15-month highs after China bolstered expectations the world economy would strengthen, but the Nasdaq fell on profit-taking in tech stocks. China reported record imports of some commodities and stronger-than-expected exports, boosting US companies with large international operations, like construction machinery maker Caterpillar [...]
New Year has positive start with surge on stocks January 10, 2010 Stocks have begun 2010 with a bullish surge, and even after Friday’s employment data from the US revealed a surprising drop for December, we should see a broad appetite for risk get us off to a positive start to this week. GFT is calling the UK’s FTSE 100 index to open up 11 points at [...]
WEEK AHEAD ON WALL STREET January 10, 2010 US stocks could be in for a bumpy ride this week as three Dow components kick off the quarterly earnings reporting season, with investors clamoring for reassurances on future profits. While the latest earnings are widely expected to show a sharp improvement compared with the abysmal 2008 fourth quarter, the stock market could still be [...]