THE NEW YORK REPORT November 4, 2009 US stocks mostly eked out a gain yesterday, pulling back from the day’s rally after the Federal Reserve reiterated its intent to keep rates low, but gave investors few new reasons to boost holdings. Stocks pushed higher in the hour following the FOMC statement, after the Fed kept its benchmark federal funds rate unchanged in [...]
Inverse ETFs are proving to be the ideal tool for bearish day traders November 4, 2009 EARLIER this week, Deutsche Bank launched the first European-listed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the inverse daily performance of an Asian stock market – Hong Kong’s Hang Seng. The investment bank’s ETF division, DB X-trackers, also announced that it has launched four new European sector ETFs on short daily indices, bringing the number of the [...]
INVESTORS FLOOD BACK TO PROPERTY November 4, 2009 NIZAM HAMIDHEAD OF SALES STRATEGY, iSHARES EUROPE REAL estate has suffered badly during the financial crisis and the very thought of sub-prime was enough to turn even the steeliest investors away from investing in property. But real estate is now a steadier environment and its attractiveness has been helped by its low correlations to other [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 4, 2009 LONDON’S leading shares ended 1.4 per cent higher yesterday, boosted by a rebound from miners and banks, with retailers Next and Marks & Spencer also higher after posting forecast-beating figures. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 70.68 points at 5,107.89, recouping all of Tuesday’s losses when the index fell 1.3 per cent to [...]
This week’s MPC decision to set the tone for sterling November 3, 2009 IN THE run-up to the Bank of England’s interest rate and quantitative easing decision on Thursday, sterling remains extremely vulnerable to further selling pressure. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)’s moves will set the tone for the pound, and for the wider currency market, going into the end of the year. Sterling has pared back some [...]
Aussie to struggle in the short term November 3, 2009 IT was a surprise to nobody that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) yesterday took the well-publicised step of hiking the interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.5 per cent. What might have surprised currency traders, though, is the subsequent pullback in the Aussie dollar against the greenback. The Aussie dollar has been a [...]
Why insider trading is hard to prove November 3, 2009 LAST month, the FBI smashed an alleged $20m insider trading scheme centring on the New York hedge fund Galleon, when they raided its offices and arrested billionaire financier Raj Rajaratnam and five accused accomplices. In the wake of criticism of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in this country over its percveived toothlessness, the regulator is [...]
CSR IS BOTH GOOD AND PROFITABLE November 3, 2009 DESMOND HUDSONCHIEF EXECUTIVE, THE LAW SOCIETY LAST week, City law firm Simmons & Simmons announced that it is putting corporate responsibility at the heart of its new business strategy. CSR-type work will appear on timesheets, and be considered in appraisals. This has ignited the debate about the “real” motivations behind corporate community investment. The rather [...]
Banking shake-up gives the markets a case of the jitters November 3, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index fell to its lowest closing level in a month yesterday, led down by banks after shake-ups at Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds and poor results from Swiss peer UBS The FTSE 100 closed 67.29 points or 1.3 per cent weaker at 5,037.21, having surrendered the 5,000 level for the first [...]
Buffet’s bet leads to cheer on WallSt November 3, 2009 The Standard and Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq rose slightly yesterday as news of a major railroad acquisition helped sentiment, but the Dow edged lower on caution before a Federal Reserve statement on interest rates and the economy. Morgan Stanley’s downgrade of semiconductor stocks also limited a broad advance. The Dow Jones Transportation Average rose 5.3 [...]