Getting a rise out of the Bank of England February 8, 2011 STERLING bulls are probably the only group of people who love inflation right now. Traders have been flocking into the pound in anticipation of a rate rise since May. Those eager rate-risers now pin their hopes on the two votes for a rise on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC): Andrew Sentance and Martin Weale. Since [...]
AUSSIE PARITY IS DEPENDENT ON JOBS DATA February 8, 2011 OVER the past months the land down under has been hit by climatological disasters of near biblical proportions. At the start of the year, economic activity in the state of Queensland was brought to a virtual standstill after floods covered an area larger than France and Germany combined with a blanket of water. Then a [...]
The screws are tightening, but it’s not torture yet February 8, 2011 CHINESE interest rate rises are, it seems, rather like coffee. The effect gets smaller with each extra dose. When the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) first announced an interest rate increase in mid-October last year, the trade-weighted dollar strengthened 1.7 per cent. The second rate rise, announced on Christmas day, produced a smaller reaction, but [...]
THE TIPSTER February 8, 2011 SPECULATION about Swedish interest rates and growth has pushed the Swedish krona to a 10-year high against the euro. The krona has been attracting investors as Sweden’s budget surplus in January came in higher than forecasts and the belief is that interest rates will rise faster than the Eurozone. This has been a long lasting [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS February 8, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Short Kiwi dollar-US dollar at $0.7735 Expertise: Technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 to 6 weeks Rallies continue to be very well capped above $0.7800 and the market has once again stalled out above the figure in favor of yet another bearish reversal. From here, we see [...]
Wall Street’s size and high liquidity are a draw for IPOs February 8, 2011 The New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, is the world’s largest stock exchange by market capitalisation. Figures from December 2010 show that the value of its 3,923 listed companies was $13.39 trillion (£8.31 trillion). This in itself makes it an exchange that should not be ignored by UK investors looking for global diversification. The origins [...]
The world lists in New York February 8, 2011 America is home to many of the world’s biggest companies. However, as mentioned above, NYSE Euronext has a truly global reach. Leading business from Asia, Latin America and Europe choose the exchange for their primary or secondary listings. And this includes many of the UK’s largest blue chip businesses. The top five UK companies listed [...]
TRADING ON THE AMERICAN DREAM BRINGS DIVERSITY TO A PORTFOLIO February 8, 2011 For many investors, the American dream is still alive and kicking. As more retail investors look overseas for portfolio growth and income, the US is a common first port of call. Many investors gain exposure to the US market using instruments such as exchange-traded funds (ETF) and managed funds. One extremely popular ETF is the [...]
FTSE dips as banks come under pressure February 8, 2011 The FTSE 100 dipped this morning despite strong results from Xstrata and BG Group. The index has gained in four out of the last five trading sessions – regularly surpassing the 6,000 barrier, but banking stocks were among the poorest performers today. Commodities dipped as the price of copper came down after a record high [...]
Don’t worry, even the economists are confused February 7, 2011 THE curious task of economics,” Friedrich Hayek once said, “is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.” This certainly rings true when you consider Friday’s US 10-year Treasury yields rally. The release of January’s US non-farm payroll data jerked the market into action. But why it [...]
