‘The government aren’t the experts’: Liberal Democrats vow to push back controversial Pension Schemes Bill
THE TIPSTER June 21, 2009 BUYERS have been snapping up banks with decimated share prices, but there are still some crisis-resilient picks in the financial sector, such as Standard Chartered. On Thursday the bank will be in the spotlight when it releases its trading update. It has managed to survive the credit crunch relatively unscathed and its share price has [...]
Positive jobs data boosts Wall Street June 18, 2009 US STOCKS gained yesterday after a recent small pullback as data on the jobs market and regional manufacturing revived hopes that the recession-hit economy is stabilising. Government data showed that while the amount of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose last week, the number of people collecting aid after the first week fell [...]
Vodafone saves the day as the high street struggles on June 18, 2009 STRENGTH in Vodafone and defensive tobacco stocks pushed the FTSE 100 into positive ground yesterday, but gains were muted and offset by sliding commodity stocks. The index closed 2.40 points lower at 4,280.86, having closed down 50.11 points, or 1.2 per cent the previous session. Heavyweight mobile phone operator Vodafone was the biggest positive impact [...]
Confidence wavers but the drug makers have the cure June 17, 2009 RECENT confidence of a quick global economic recovery wavered yesterday, with commodity stocks down on weaker raw material prices but pharmaceuticals and telecoms gaining. “The bulls have lost their swagger and after a week long stalemate, the bears appear to be winning the recovery debate. Financial markets have now broken out of last week’s unusually [...]
US banks hit after S&P’s downgrade June 17, 2009 TECHNOLOGY shares buoyed the Nasdaq yesterday after positive broker comments on Qualcomm, but financial shares’ losses held back the Dow and the S&P 500. Banks were hurt by a broad debt ratings downgrade from Standard & Poor’s and uncertainty over the government’s extensive proposals for banking-industry reform. The KBW Bank index fell 3.3 per cent. [...]
BOND YIELDS ARE A THREAT TO RECOVERY June 17, 2009 GEORGE TCHETERTAKOVHEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI UK THE bond markets are often underestimated and overlooked by investors because they are usually very stable, in fact almost too stable for some traders to take notice. However, over the past 18 months they have not only been volatile, but also pivotal in influencing banks, governments, central banks [...]
Investors are turning to ETFs as uncertain times continue June 17, 2009 WHEN American private equity firm Blackrock recently acquired Barclays Global Investors in a deal worth $13.5bn it was seen as a smart move by some industry analysts, largely because of BGI’s involvement in the exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) industry through its £375bn iShares business. ETFs have been big in the US for many years, and the financial [...]
GOLD A GOOD BET IN ALL CONDITIONS June 17, 2009 NICHOLAS BROOKSHEAD OF RESEARCH AND INVESTMENT STRATEGY, ETF SECURITIES SINCE the start of the year, the economic outlook has changed significantly and global depression has been averted. However, we are still in a period of deflation, as RPI figures out earlier this week showed. In May, inflation fell yet again in the UK, from -1.1 [...]
Putting the net into networking June 17, 2009 IN business, your network is your career’s lifeblood. Contacts are not there to sit unused in the Rolodex, but to be exploited for ideas, deals, jobs and opportunities. After all, only a fraction of executive appointments are made as a result of applications to advertised positions – most are down to knowing the right people. [...]
CAREERS CLINIC June 17, 2009 TONI EASTWOODDEVELOPMENT MANAGER, EVERYWOMAN My boss has formed a laddish rapport with the men on our team, and they go out drinking a lot. As a woman, I feel excluded, and I think I’m being overlooked for important projects. Some of the women on the team are happy to play up to the macho atmosphere, [...]