Commodity currencies on the turn July 7, 2009 OVER the past fortnight, risk aversion has returned with a vengeance as a string of data – including US unemployment figures and a downward revision to UK first quarter GDP – disappointed the markets. Foreign exchange markets have reacted predictably with both the US dollar and the Japanese yen strengthening markedly against the commodity currencies. [...]
Miners give support as they rise to recoup their losses July 7, 2009 MINERS were the saviour of the FTSE 100 yesterday, offsetting falling oil stocks and disappointing UK industrial output data to keep the index flat, or just 7.91 points lower, at 4,187. Data showed that UK manufacturing output unexpectedly shrank in May, falling 0.5 per cent on the month, making it less likely the economy returned [...]
MARKETS ANTICIPATE EUROZONE RATES MAY FALL EVEN FURTHER July 7, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT LAST week the European Central Bank (ECB) left its monetary policy unchanged, stating that the current 1 per cent repo rate is appropriate. But the currency market may think differently. For the past several months pricing pressures in the Eurozone have been practically non-existent. Consumer inflation has been at [...]
CHARTER FOR DIVERSITY TO CHANGE LAW July 7, 2009 STEPHEN WARDTHE LAW SOCIETY TODAY, the Law Society launches its Diversity and Inclusion Charter the legal profession’s flagship diversity initiative. At the official launch event tonight, which is being sponsored by Linklaters and Eversheds, around 40 leading law firms will be announced as founding signatories, but all law firms regardless of their size are encouraged [...]
Use currency indices to help diversify your forex trading July 6, 2009 CURRENCY markets have proved particularly popular among contracts for difference (CFDs) traders over recent months, due to the extent of opportunities in the forex markets as risk appetite waxes and wanes. But one of the problems with CFD positions on currency pairs is that in order to be bullish on one currency, by definition you [...]
FTSE 100 slips below 4,200 but defensives stay afloat July 6, 2009 THE FTSE 100 fell one per cent yesterday to close 41.37 points down at 4,194.91, on concerns about the global economic outlook, with heavyweight oils, miners and banks leading the market lower, after it gained 0.1 per cent on Friday. The index fell through the 4,200 level for the first time since late April. It [...]
US rises on health and food stocks July 6, 2009 THE Dow industrials rose and the S&P 500 rebounded in late trading yesterday as investors’ concerns about the strength of an economic recovery triggered a move into defensive stocks. But the technology-heavy Nasdaq slipped as investors rotated out of the tech sector, which is viewed as more reliant on the economic cycle. A series of [...]
VOLATILITY ON THE WAY FOR THE SUMMER MONTHS July 6, 2009 MARTIN SLANEYHEAD OF DERIVATIVES, GFTAS WE head into the third quarter and market volatility continues to fade, it’s tempting to think we have a tranquil summer ahead, and that the current range-bound trading patterns are to be entrenched for the holiday season. Some of us may even be scouring the Ashes schedule and hoping the [...]
THE LONDON REPORT July 5, 2009 OUSEBUILDERS will come under scrutiny this week, with giants Persimmon and Barratt Developments set to update markets. Traders will be hoping for further signs that there is an an uptick in mortgage availability, as banks repair their balance sheets and are able to resume lending to homebuyers, feeding through to the battered sector. Barratt, set [...]
Banking sector trading update will show pick of the crop July 5, 2009 WITH news that bankers at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are on track for bumper full-year bonuses, celebrated with the obligatory champagne and expensive dinners, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the financial crisis had never happened. But while they might be in line for those bonuses, investors and traders will be scrutinising banks’ earnings [...]