SWISS FRANC IS PROVIDING RISK RELIEF July 19, 2011 CREDIT concerns continue to preoccupy FX traders, and as officials on both sides of the Atlantic struggle to put forth a credible fiscal policy to appease the markets, the Swiss franc remains the currency of choice for those seeking the safety of sound money. The Swissie has become the pox-on-both-your-houses trade as investors seek to [...]
Eurozone crisis won’t be swept under the peripheral carpet July 19, 2011 THE Eurozone has been on the brink of outright crisis for a while, but events are overtaking politics, as markets lose faith in Europe’s heart. Kathleen Brooks of Forex.com is concerned that the tremors in the periphery are now being felt in the core, noting: “France and Belgium have seen their spreads versus German bonds [...]
THE TIPSTER July 19, 2011 SINCE breaking below the $80 level in spectacular fashion a few days ago, dollar-yen seems to have found some support around ¥79. The break below ¥80 could mean a retest of the post earthquake lows around ¥76.50. Capital Spreads quotes a price of ¥79.00-¥79.01. European government bond yields are hitting lofty heights not seen for [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS July 19, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short Australian dollar-dollar and euro-dollar, long dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week My sterling-dollar short from last week hit its first target; but the remainder of the position was trailed out at break even on a sharp reversal [...]
An open culture is the best safeguard against the risk of damaging scandals July 19, 2011 HEAD OF ACCA UK BEING in business is about value creation. We live in a capitalist society; it is profits, losses, warnings, and dividends that routinely make the business headlines. But if there’s one thing that recent events involving the press have shown, it is that businesses have to deliver more than just economic value [...]
For the public sector, releasing data to the public gaze needs to be far more common July 19, 2011 HEAD OF PUBLIC SECTOR, ACCA LAST week, the Treasury published the unaudited whole-of-government accounts for 2009/10. This was a landmark moment for public finance in the UK, as it’s the first time that this has happened; the idea of publishing the accounts was floated in the mid-90s, so this is something that we’ve been waiting [...]
FTSE drops sharply as banks suffer in wake of stress tests July 18, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares fell sharply yesterday after the results of stress tests on European banks were met with disappointment over their credibility while investors were also fearful over the threat of a US default on the nation’s debt. The banking sector index sunk to a two-year low as money managers and traders cast doubts over [...]
Debt deal impasse sinks US market July 18, 2011 US stocks dropped yesterday as bank shares bore the brunt of investor frustration over governments’ inability to solve debt crises in the United States and Europe. With five days to go before President Barack Obama’s deadline for a debt ceiling deal and no agreement in sight, Republicans and Democrats were crafting a fallback plan to [...]
Gold is through the roof and silver set to follow July 18, 2011 GOLD is stealing all the headlines, having broken $1,600. This is on the back of justifiable fears of a grim economic outlook, particularly in the highly indebted Eurozone countries and US. But silver is on the up too and with the gold/silver ratio (graph right) suggesting that the latter is lagging behind the former, silver [...]
THE PRECIOUS METALS SHINE IN POLICY FOG July 18, 2011 LAST week was a difficult one for equity investors, thanks to a lack of clarity from policymakers and central bankers. On Tuesday, the minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting stated that it may “be appropriate to provide additional monetary policy accommodation” if economic growth remained too slow to reduce unemployment. This led [...]
