Speculators seek out sanctuary from shock February 22, 2011 SHOCKS, both in the political and seismic sense, have driven flight into the US dollar and the Swiss franc as investors shy from risk. Headlines in recent weeks have been dominated by political unrest in north Africa and the Middle East, but Libya’s turmoil is the first time that a major oil producing country has [...]
CABLE BULLS WILL HOPE FOR THREE HAWKS February 22, 2011 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT TWO or three? That’s the critical question that currency traders will be asking today upon the release of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) minutes due at 9:30am. Last week, the market was abuzz with speculation that Charles Bean may have been the third MPC member to join the two Bank [...]
The attack of the ECB hawks: how uncertainty has changed tactics February 22, 2011 HAWKISHNESS is not new at the European Central Bank (ECB), but this week its most notorious birds of prey have been flapping their beaks. This has got foreign exchange traders rather excited, and stabilised the euro against the dollar at a time when the upheaval in the Middle East should have had them flooding in [...]
THE TIPSTER MERSCH GIVES EURO SUPPORT February 22, 2011 THE euro was dropping steadily against the dollar yesterday morning, tumbling some 150 basis points before stabilising around $1.3530. Then, a statement released across the wires stated European Central Bank (ECB) member Yves Mersch said the ECB may toughen inflation language next week, and may warn of upside inflation risks. This hawkish tone sent euro-dollar [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS February 22, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Buy dollar-Canadian dollar Ca$0.9800 Expertise: Technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 to 6 weeks Daily studies are starting to look a little stretched, and in conjunction with longer-term cyclical studies, warn of a major base. This leaves us looking for opportunities to buy rather than sell into [...]
Changes to insurance regime could mean a PII revolution February 22, 2011 SOLICITORS are dealing with a number of challenges that threaten the futures of many within the legal profession. The recession has affected everyone and solicitors are no exception. Corporate lawyers aren’t seeing the deals that used to see them working into the early hours of the morning and the property lawyers have seen their conveyancing [...]
LLPs need to watch out for bullying risks February 22, 2011 THE pressure on partners to perform is a constant characteristic of a professional firm. In such an environment perhaps it should not come as a surprise when the behaviour of some high calibre individuals falls short of the mark. Generally, firms are alive to the dangers of employees being bullied, particularly following the case of [...]
CASE STUDIES| NEWS FROM THE COURTS THIS WEEK February 22, 2011 SHARE-RAMPING BAN UPHELD The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery) has upheld the decision of the FSA to fine and issue a prohibition notice to a stockbroker involved in a share-ramping scheme. Graham Betton had 30 years experience and was the managing director of his firm. The scheme involved unauthorised trading of his clients’ accounts and [...]
FTSE falls to two-week low as chaos in Libya unsettles traders February 21, 2011 THE top share index fell yesterday as tensions in oil producer Libya sent crude prices sharply higher and jolted investors out of riskier assets such as banks and miners. The FTSE 100 index ended down 68.19 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 6,014.80, its lowest close since 4 February. It pulled back sharply after a [...]
Europe suffers in Middle East unrest February 21, 2011 EUROPEAN shares fell sharply yesterday after unrest in Libya fuelled concern over energy supplies and sapped investor risk appetite, with Italian stocks among the hardest hit. A rise in the level of violence between protestors and the government of autocratic Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi over the weekend prompted a broad-based share pullback across the region, [...]
