Newfound appetite for stocks does not mean a bull rally August 2, 2009 INVESTORS are regaining their appetite for equities in the wake of generally positive second quarter earnings results, according to a fund managers’ survey conducted last week by financial information company Thomson Reuters. As a percentage of a typical balanced portfolio, equities were at their highest since the end of August last year, just a couple [...]
Banks gear up to report on the first half of a tough year August 2, 2009 The market’s attention is likely to be dominated this week by the banks, which will be reporting their first-half results during the five days. But there will be plenty more for investors to sink their teeth into, with insurers, bookmakers and industrials all on the radar too. Barclays and HSBC kick the week off this [...]
FTSE set to dip as banks hit spotlight August 2, 2009 MUCH of the rally of the past three weeks has been US earnings-led, but this week we’ll have the chance to see how a range of UK banks’ half-yearly numbers go down. The overall diagnosis is likely to be one of recoveries in profitability, with concerns mounting over soaring bad-loan losses. Two of the likely [...]
Tight supply drives sugar even higher August 2, 2009 IT MAY not attract the same attention as crude oil or gold, but the potential for multi-decade highs means that white sugar deserves a closer look from spread betters looking to diversify their trading portfolio. Raw sugar futures hit three-year peaks of at the end of last week with New York’s October contract touching a [...]
ONLY A WEAK YEN POINTS TO REAL GROWTH August 2, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR,FOREX.COM President Obama last week claimed that the US may be seeing the “beginning of the end” of the recession and his words coincided with subtle improvements in the tone of some central banks, whose rhetoric provides a useful gauge as to how the world is moving on in the wake of the [...]
THE TIPSTER RESULTS ARE STILL THE MAIN DRIVER August 2, 2009 THIS week the focus will be clearly on the British banks, which will be releasing their second quarter earnings. While traders will be looking at the performance of the whole sector, spread betters should be particularly watching Lloyds Banking Group, which reports on Wednesday. Recently, there have been several bullish broker notes and the shares [...]
BP boosts FTSE as miners, telecoms and banks surge July 30, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index ended close to a seven-month high yesterday, as better-than-expected earnings from the likes of BT boosted sentiment, lifting miners, banks and telecoms firms. The FTSE 100 closed up 1.9 per cent, or 84.08 points at 4,631.61 points, the highest level since January 6. The index is up 9 per cent so [...]
US enjoys positive company reports July 30, 2009 US STOCKS rose yesterday as solid corporate profit reports and a drop in the number of Americans on jobless benefits gave investors reasons to buy equities following the S&P 500’s two days of losses. The market’s rally pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index earlier in the session to its highest intraday level in almost nine [...]
The subtle art of effective networking July 29, 2009 SINCE the Eighties heyday of power lunches and bulging Filofaxes, networking – the mysterious art of forming relationships with strangers for somewhat mercenary purposes – has been central to City life. To some it’s a necessary evil, to others it’s exciting – but in a recession-affected job market, it can be the difference between progressing [...]
FTSE 100 hangs in there as investors regain confidence July 29, 2009 THE FTSE 100 rose yesterday as gains from financial stocks, boosted by strong numbers from the UK arm of Spain’s Banco Santander, and positive broker comment, outweighed a weak mining sector. The index closed 18.69 points, or 0.4 per cent, higher at 4,547.53, after ending 1.3 per cent lower on Tuesday when it failed to [...]