THE TIPSTER November 17, 2009 OPTIMISTIC comments earlier this week from Bank of England committee member Andrew Sentance saw sterling-US dollar march higher, hitting a year high against the buck during mid-morning trading yesterday. But although the inflation bounce added extra fuel to yesterday’s spike, the move higher proved to be unsustainable. There’s likely to be a clear psychological barrier [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 16, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index hit its highest closing level in more than 14 months yesterday as a weaker dollar sparked a rally in metals prices and some upbeat US data lifted market sentiment. The FTSE 100 ended up 86.29 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 5,382.67, its highest close since September 2008 and notching up [...]
Despite good results, Japan is still struggling November 16, 2009 GIVEN that the country has been languishing for much of the past 15 years, it came as something of a surprise to hear that Japan’s economy grew by a healthy 1.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2009, as exports and business investment rebounded. The stronger-than-expected data cheered the country’s Nikkei index, which rose [...]
CRUDE OIL’S STALL SPELLS BAD NEWS November 16, 2009 DAVID MORRISONCFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT DESPITE assurances to the contrary, the US administration wants a weaker dollar. Investors have seen this, however, and discount US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s call for a strong dollar as simply hot air. Meanwhile the clear message from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is that US interest rates will [...]
Pressure still on for BA, despite the Iberia deal November 16, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS’ agreement to a $7bn merger with its Spanish rival Iberia has highlighted just how much the airlines have struggled during the recession. A surging oil price ahead of the financial crisis had put pressure on costs, which saw both businesses and consumers tighten their belts, causing passenger numbers to slump. The merger, said [...]
THE TIPSTER CHRISTMAS HAS ARRIVED EARLY IN THE MARKETS November 16, 2009 THE FTSE 100 smashed through 5,300 yesterday, rising 86 points to close at 5,382.67. For weeks the blue-chip index had been struggling to get through this resistance level but yesterday, it was firmly back on the upward trend. Has the traditional Santa rally started early? If so, the next target level would be the 5,500 [...]
THE NEW YORK REPORT November 16, 2009 US stocks rose broadly yesterday, sending indexes to fresh 13-month closing highs, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reinforced expectations that interest rates would stay low to spur growth. Bernanke repeated that the Fed was likely to keep interest rates exceptionally low for “an extended period,” a pledge that weighed on the dollar and drove [...]
YUAN’S PEG A PROBLEM FOR STRONG EURO November 15, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COMCURRENCY flexibility in Asia is a contentious issue, so the appearance of US President Barack Obama and US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings last week immediately brought the topic back into the spotlight. Geithner made the most of the opportunity to stress the importance of flexible [...]
THE TIPSTER RETAILERS TRY TO BEAT THE RECESSION November 15, 2009 SO FAR, so good for the British retailers, it would seem. The likes of Marks&Spencer, Next and J Sainsbury have all released better-than-expected third quarter figures, and the latter is once again looking like an attractive proposition. Although lower food inflation might be expected to hit bumper sale figures, both the supermarket and its rival [...]
Copper looks red hot for next year November 15, 2009 COPPER’S status as a widely used industrial metal meant it was always going to do well in 2009. Restocking, East Asian growth and growing confidence in the global economic recovery saw the price of the red metal on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rise to as high as $6,700 a tonne earlier in the year. [...]