Wall Street cheers as markets surge July 23, 2009 US stocks surged yesterday, sending the Dow industrials above the key 9,000 mark for the first time since January, as strong corporate profits and rebounding home sales spurred optimism about the economy. The broad-based rally helped all 10 of the S&P 500’s benchmark sectors finish the day in positive territory. Strong profits from bellwethers such [...]
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 [...]
Pharmaceuticals inject more life into the FTSE 100’s rise July 22, 2009 THE FTSE 100 added 0.3 per cent yesterday, extending its winning streak to eight sessions thanks to modest gains on Wall Street and solid second-quarter results from drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline. At the close, the index was 12.56 points higher at 4,493.73, up 8.2 per cent over the past eight sessions. Drug maker Shire was 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 [...]
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 [...]
The champagne days are over as firms cut costs July 21, 2009 ONE OF THE less visible casualties of the credit crunch has been the corporate and press hospitality industry. Legal journalists wistfully recall the days, now gone, in which they were magically whisked away by a fleet of chauffeur-driven cars to take first class transatlantic flights to check out Linklaters’ New York office or when they [...]
Supermarket sweep pushes FTSE to seventh rise in a row July 21, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index rose for a seventh-straight day yesterday, boosted by supermarkets after a trading update from Wm Morrison, and after strong US quarterly results, with miners also lending support. The FTSE 100 closed 37.55 points higher, or 0.9 per cent, at 4,481.17, following a gain of 1.3 per cent on Monday. The index [...]