Junior Isas to match adult savings funds April 6, 2011 IN LAST month’s budget, the chancellor announced the arrival of the Junior Isa scheme, which will become available in November of this year. The Junior Isa is a replacement for the Child Trust Fund (CTF), but will do away with the government contribution of the previous scheme (see the table below). The Junior Isa will [...]
Profit from the energy of Brazil’s private sector April 6, 2011 THE Brazilian stock market has beaten its fellow Brics – Russia, India and China – since 2002 and its future looks strong. Carlos de Leon, who manages the Allianz RCM Brazil fund, is an advocate for the country’s long-term potential. Whether in energy, healthcare, education or retail, de Leon believes that Brazilian companies will be [...]
FTSE lags over China’s rate hike and European debt fears April 5, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index edged lower yesterday as miners fell on concerns that an interest rate hike in China could hurt demand for metals and banks dropped on worries over European debt. The FTSE 100 closed down 9.92 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 6,007.06, having rallied 7.4 per cent off lows hit in March [...]
Low volumes see Wall St tread water April 5, 2011 THE S&P 500 failed to break a key technical resistance level for a second day yesterday as low trading volume raised further questions about the market’s strength. The broader market index closed slightly below 1,333, a closely watched level as it represents double the low reached in March 2009. Trading volume was relatively low with [...]
Imagining tomorrow: possibilities, probabilities and potential in 2025 April 5, 2011 1 TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGY There’s been a lot of fuss about digital forming technology – that is physically printing anything from plates and cups to medical equipment and cars. But it is worth the fuss since it will radically impact on the world economy when it comes into fruition. The technology would give us the capability [...]
Chinese rate hikes will build pressure on its Pacific partners April 5, 2011 TODAY the interest rate hike announced by the Chinese central bank will kick in. This follows yesterday’s announcement by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) that the benchmark one-year lending rate will increase to 6.31 per cent from 6.06 per cent. At the same time, the one-year deposit rate will rise to 3.25 per cent [...]
AUSSIE: RATE RISE NOT IN SIGHT OF RBA April 5, 2011 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT OVER the past week the Australian dollar has been setting fresh post-float highs nearly every day, reaching a peak of Au$1.0416 on Sunday. The currency’s recent rise has been driven by stronger commodity prices, improved risk appetite and the return of the carry trade. At 4.75 per cent, the Aussie [...]
THE TIPSTER April 5, 2011 THE Japanese yen remains under significant pressure, which is not being helped by news of supply chain disruption at Toyota’s US facilities. What should have been a valuable source of funds ready to be repatriated is being taken out of the equation. The concern now has to be that the situation is going to get [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS April 5, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short euro-dollar, short Australian dollar-dollar, long euro Expertise: Fundamental and Technical Analysis with Risk Management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week Neither the short euro-dollar nor the short sterling-dollar setups I laid out last week were triggered, as sentiment and rate expectations held up. That [...]
Rate rise in euro would expose weak periphery April 5, 2011 MARKETS are expecting a quarter point rise from 1 to 1.25 per cent when the European Central Bank (ECB) meets tomorrow. However, even if Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the ECB, announces the quarter point rise, the euro could still come under pressure, as attention focuses on the impact of higher interest rates upon Europe’s beleaguered [...]
