Post-crisis, the carry trade is a new beast to contend with July 22, 2009 IT WAS once the most popular trade in the foreign exchange market and helped fuel the boom in global asset markets until 2007. But with the advent of the sub-prime, and subsequently the full-blown, financial crisis, the carry trade was unwound as investors became risk-averse and piled into safe-havens such as the US dollar and [...]
UNCERTAINTY KEEPS LID ON ASSET PRICES July 22, 2009 GEORGE TCHETVERTAKOVHEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI UK FINANCIAL markets continue to remain in a state of flux as conflicting indicators and persistently unpredictable macro events sway sentiment. The frothy risk-rally in equities, commodities and FX that started in March hit a wall of doubt in mid-May leading to a sense of overextension amongst investors as [...]
FS recruitment shows muted recovery signs July 22, 2009 AFTER the bleakest period in the City’s job markets for many years, there have been flickering signals in the past few weeks that financial recruitment is inching its way back towards the light. But the message from recruiters is to treat such signs with extreme caution for now. Earlier this month, recruitment firm Hays reported [...]
Nasdaq up despite bad day for banks July 22, 2009 THE Nasdaq rose yesterday for the 11th straight day, buoyed by solid profits from Apple and Starbucks, while disappointing bank results and declining energy shares weighed on the broader market. The Dow Jones industrial average declined, halting a seven-day winning streak, as investors sold some of the market’s recent winners to take profits, and the [...]
Pick wisely and small cap firms could prove a real goldmine July 22, 2009 INVESTING in small companies has traditionally been seen as a risky business, reserved only for those with plenty of experience and deep pockets. But with global diversified blue-chip stocks running into trouble, it is no surprise that investors have started to see the lower echelons of the FTSE index as more attractive. Indeed, only last [...]
UK DEBT WILL UNDERMINE STERLING RISE July 22, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM EARLIER this week one news service ran the headline that out of the S&P companies that have already announced their quarterly results, 71 per cent have produced positive surprises. These better earnings were consistent with a push into risky assets that not only supported the stock market but also knocked the [...]
Correlations prove a useful guide in trading the FX market July 21, 2009 MIXED macroeconomic data over recent weeks has seen investors’ risk appetite rise and fall on an almost daily basis, making it difficult for foreign exchange traders to take anything other than a very near-term view on a currency pair. If you’re not a short-term trader looking to jump in and out of the market, then [...]
CHINA’S GDP THREATENED BY US SAVERS July 21, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT LAST week China released its GDP figures for the second quarter of 2009. While it missed the vaunted 8 per cent target, the country’s economy did expand at an impressive rate of 7.9 per cent. Compared with the miserable results from the G3 universe (US GDP -2 per cent, [...]
Adjust your tactics to the time horizon July 21, 2009 MARKET volatility during the financial crisis meant that traders shortened their time horizons and looked only to trade in the very near-term. Massive swings in the markets, currencies included, meant that it was impossible for investors to make long-term trading decisions and hedge them appropriately. But with conditions calming considerably to pre-Lehman levels, medium and [...]
MAKE SURE YOUR WILL IS SHIP SHAPE July 21, 2009 WYNNE THOMASSENIOR PARTNER AND A PRIVATE CLIENT PARTNER AT DAWSONS LLP THE death of Michael Jackson has, predictably, turned into something of a circus, with doctors, hangers-on and family members all keen to get across their side of the story. What has added to the interest and drama in this sad case is the fact [...]