Fears over Eurozone debt rock US May 19, 2010 US stocks fell yesterday as Germany’s unilateral action to ban specific trades on some stocks and bonds sparked a fresh wave of uncertainty and risk aversion among anxious investors. Markets already fear the Eurozone’s credit woes could cut into economic growth. But not all the news was bad, as the broad S&P 500 bounced off [...]
There is value to be found in private equity May 19, 2010 AFTER two years in the investment wilderness listed private equity companies have emerged fresher, leaner, less debt-ridden and ripe to outperform the overall stock market, according to some analysts. Traditionally private equity houses tend to be a good play on a cyclical economic recovery. Their share prices should rise when their portfolio companies start to [...]
The heat is on for the steel price this year May 19, 2010 THE price of industrial metals has been hit during the recent bout of market turbulence. But against this backdrop pressures have been building that could drive the price of steel higher again. The industrial metal, widely used for the production of infrastructure, is being bolstered by several factors. The first is supply and demand. Supply [...]
THE TIPSTER May 19, 2010 THE airline that once billed itself as the world’s favourite is set to report fourth quarter results on Friday, but it has hardly been an upbeat few months for British Airways. Although these profit figures will not include the disruption caused by the volcano in Iceland, the carrier has been mired in an industrial dispute [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS May 19, 2010 COOKING UP A WINNER AT ISHARES The ETF provider iShares launched a new educational campaign this week in novel fashion. If you were around the City earlier this week then you may have seen two chefs, former contenders on MasterChef no less, cooking up a storm to promote the benefits of ETFs. The chefs used [...]
Constrained times ahead for banks as regulators piece together Basel III May 19, 2010 SINCE the banking crisis occurred, every major regulatory authority, central bank and government has been developing ideas for improving bank regulations, with some already imposed. Meanwhile, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which produced the original 1988 Basel Accord regulating capital requirements for banks and its subsequent revision, Basel II, ploughs on with a new [...]
Wielding power with persuasion is the strongest way to lead May 19, 2010 IF YOU think about it, persuasion and influence can be just the opposite of power. If you are loaded with power, why bother to persuade? Why not just command and have done with it? For some managers, that’s a question that needs answering. Right now there is optimism about the outcome of the recent General [...]
FTSE lifted by banks and commodities as investor fears over Eurozone recede May 18, 2010 BANKS and commodity-linked stocks pushed Britain’s top share index higher yesterday, with risk appetite returning among investors as Eurozone debt fears ebbed, and Man Group recouping the previous session’s losses. The FTSE 100 ended up 44.80 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 5,307.34, but after retreating from an earlier session high of 5,341.41. “Any move [...]
Regulation doubts spark a slide on US bank stocks May 18, 2010 US stocks sank yesterday, driven lower as the strengthening of financial regulation from Wall Street to Frankfurt crushed bank stocks, adding to worries about the sustainability of the global economic recovery. In Washington, several Republicans will vote with Democrats to wrap up debate on the sweeping reform of financial regulations and move toward final passage, [...]
The land of opportunity May 18, 2010 WHILE Europe desperately struggles to escape Greek contagion, the US is fighting its way out of recession. In the first three months of 2010, US GDP rose 0.8 per cent, putting the annualised rate at 3.2 per cent. Over the same period, Germany and the UK grew just 0.2 per cent, France and Spain grew [...]
