It’s not time to give up on the land of the free just yet August 3, 2010 THE tide has turned against the outlook for US growth. A flurry of weaker than expected data – culminating with economic growth data released last week, showing the pace of expansion had slowed from 3.7 per cent in the first quarter of the year to 2.4 per cent in the second – saw investors concerns [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS August 3, 2010 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT INCREASES Pension funds ramped up their investments in real estate last year, the European Institutional Asset Management Survey (EIAMS) showed. At 6.6 per cent of investors’ total assets, real estate is now at an eight-year high. The survey showed that all sizes of investors increased their allocations to real estate, with medium [...]
THREE TOP-RATED US EQUITY FUNDS August 3, 2010 NEPTUNE US OPPORTUNITIES FUND Launched on 31 December 2002, Neptune’s US Opportunities fund has been managed by Felix Wintle since August 2005. Although it has underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year due to manager caution – 14.99 per cent compared to 25.96 per cent for the wider market – it has enjoyed robust [...]
China crisis as firms quit Aim August 3, 2010 REED SMITH BEFORE the onset of the economic downturn, there seemed to be no end to the approaches being received by London Aim advisers from Chinese companies seeking an admission to Aim. Since then, however, regulatory changes in China concerning overseas listings and the depressed nature of the world equity markets in 2008 and 2009 [...]
City should look to international arbitration August 3, 2010 HOGAN LOVELLS FOLLOWING the banking collapse of 2007 there was much speculation that disputes would increase as parties sought legal redress for a range of alleged wrongdoings including mis-selling, professional negligence and breach of contract. It is only now that data is starting to filter through as to whether this speculation was justified. Disputes, however, [...]
Banks and miners propel the FTSE after July’s record gain August 2, 2010 BANKS and commodity stocks powered a sharp rise in Britain’s top share index yesterday, as HSBC’s results beat forecasts and metal and energy prices rose. The FTSE 100 closed up 139.09 points, or 2.7 per cent, at 5,397.11. For the month of July the index rose 6.9 per cent, its biggest monthly increase for exactly [...]
Dollar boosts Wall Street to new high August 2, 2010 US stocks closed at their highest level in 10 weeks yesterday and the S&P 500 pierced key technical levels as a weaker US dollar lifted the energy and raw materials sectors. Strong results in Europe from BNP Paribas and HSBC added to the upbeat tone and lifted US bank stocks. JPMorgan Chase & Co rose [...]
Pharma no antidote to stock market turmoil August 2, 2010 AS WEAK US data continues to throw a shadow over the global recovery, investors might be drawn to adding traditional defensive stocks like pharmaceuticals to their portfolios. But contracts for difference (CFD) traders should pause before using pharma as a bearish hedge. While the big two UK firms, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, offer attractive dividends, their [...]
FRAGILE US IS STILL RELIANT ON STIMULUS August 2, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT THE tension in the tug-of-war between equity bulls and bears cranked up a few notches last week. Initially, results from the second quarter earnings season boosted stocks since the majority of firms that have so far reported released better-than-expected numbers. But as the week drew to a close, doubts appeared to [...]
Solid earnings are only the beginning for banking stocks August 2, 2010 AFTER what has been a difficult few months, the European banking sector couldn’t have asked for a better start to a week that is jam-packed with their first-half earnings announcements. Both London-listed HSBC and Paris-quoted BNP Paribas posted better than expected profits and revealed that their bad debts have fallen sharply to pre-crisis levels. Traders [...]
