New volatility products help investors to hedge April 28, 2010 EUROPE’s sovereign debt crisis has gained momentum this week after Greece’s debt was downgraded to junk status. Similar to the financial shock in 2008, this has rocked global stock indices and volatility has spiked higher in recent days. Volatility indices, such as the Vix in the US and VSTOXX in Europe, measure the “fear” in [...]
Don’t forget an ETF’s dividend April 28, 2010 WITH earnings season once again upon us, investors are turning their minds towards the possibility that their share holdings will pay them at least some dividend income. Although figures earlier this week from Capita Registrars showed that British firms paid out 2.5 per cent less in dividends in the first quarter than the same period [...]
THE TIPSTER April 28, 2010 BLANKET short selling restrictions have been brought in for shares listed in Greece, which could temporaily delay further falls in the local index especially against other euro nations. While this doesn’t prevent prices from falling, declines could be less marked. A short-term long position in Greek stocks is an interesting half of a pairs trade. [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS April 28, 2010 MARKIT TO LAUNCH ETF ENCYCLOPEDIAJESSICA MEAD Global financial information services company Markit announced earlier this week that it would launch Markit ETF Services, a a package of products that includes an encyclopedia, trade data and ETF dividends. The encyclopedia is a global reference database of all 2,700 ETFs available worldwide, categorised by asset class, type, region [...]
FTSE drops after Spain downgrade April 28, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed lower yesterday, extending the previous session’s steep falls, after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s credit rating to AA, overshadowing strong corporate earnings. The FTSE 100 index closed down 16.91 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,586.61, after it tumbled 2.6 per cent on Tuesday — its biggest one-day [...]
Fed’s cheer on economy boosts Dow April 28, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday after the Federal Reserve pointed to signs of strength in the economy, comments that gave some relief to investors worried about possible debt defaults in Europe. The Fed’s comments on the economy and its statement that it would keep interest rates low for an extended period lifted bank shares. BKW Bank [...]
The man who thinks MBAs should make ethics centre stage in the boardroom April 28, 2010 AROUND a year ago, in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and in the midst of governments bailouts, a group of Harvard Business School MBA students decided to create an oath that would help to promote more ethical behaviour in business. They were stung by criticism of MBAs, who were blamed by some [...]
FTSE sees biggest fall in five months after S&P slashes rating on Greece April 27, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index dropped 2.6 per cent yesterday, the biggest fall in over five months as S&P downgrades for Greece and Portugal fuelled debt crisis contagion worries, smacking banks and commodity issues. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 150.33 points at 5,603.52, easily snapping an 88 point rally seen in the [...]
US stocks plummet over fears of eurozone chaos April 27, 2010 US stocks tumbled yesterday as downgrades of Greece and Portugal fuelled fear about eurozone economic stability, and a grilling of Goldman Sachs on Capitol Hill heightened the possibility of financial reform. Stocks posted their worst day in nearly three months and the CBOE Vix volatility index, Wall Street’s barometer of investor fear, jumped about 31 [...]
Bubble fears overdone in emerging markets April 27, 2010 IN SPITE of emerging markets’ strong rebound from the financial crisis and their rosy growth prospects, 41 per cent of European pension plans still have no exposure at all to this sector, according to an annual asset allocation report released earlier this month by Mercer, a consultancy. But this is changing in the wake of [...]
