Get a shortcut to hedge fund gains with ETFs April 7, 2010 FOLLOWING a terrible 2008, hedge funds managed to bounce back last year both in terms of assets under management and performance. In 2009, the Credit Suisse/Tremont hedge fund index recorded annual performance of 18.57 per cent compared to a loss of 19.07 per cent the previous year, largely as a result of the financial crisis. [...]
Covered warrants help you play the election April 7, 2010 IF there is one thing that markets hate, it is uncertainty. With some polls pointing to a hung parliament after the election, many traders are tempted to take their money off the table until it is clear who is in charge of the British economy. If that means waiting until a second election – a [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS April 7, 2010 INVESTING IN THE EAST Societe Generale launched 51 new covered warrants at the start of this month. Now investors can trade call and put warrants on Hong Kong’s stock index the Hang Seng, the Nasdaq 100 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index. The Hang Seng has been fairly volatile this year and remains below the recent [...]
THE TIPSTER April 7, 2010 THE weekly US inventory data may have shown a surprise build up in oil stocks, but with global demand set to keep ticking higher as the recovery gains pace then yesterday’s dip back to the $86 per barrel mark is likely to be nothing more than a short-term blip. Oil at $100 could be around [...]
INVESTORS’ GLOSSARY April 7, 2010 HAIRCUT Rather than something you might get done at the hairdressers, this type of haircut applies to collateralised agreements in the financial markets. In a lending agreement, the lender may subtract a certain percentage from the value of the assets that are being put up as a collateral to reflect the risk associated with holding [...]
FTSE ends higher on oil and mining after upbeat US data April 6, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed 0.6 per cent higher yesterday, lifted by firmer commodities after upbeat US data raised demand expectations, while Vodafone fell as Verizon merger talk cooled. The FTSE 100 ended up 35.46 points at 5,780.35, having earlier hit a fresh 21-month intra-day peak of 5,790.40. The index climbed 1.2 per cent on Thursday [...]
S&P 500 boosted by lift for bankers April 6, 2010 THE S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose modestly yesterday as the banking sector got a lift from positive analyst comments, while minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting eased concern over rising rates. The minutes suggested the central bank could keep interest rates at ultra-low levels longer than investors have anticipated if the economy worsens. Lower [...]
The euro is due a respite after a very hard winter April 6, 2010 THE EURO’S winter of discontent started back in January when a huge hole in Greece’s public finances was revealed. Since then allegations of dodgy accounting rules, swap trades with major Wall Street banks and the threat of contagion to other southern European economies has driven the euro to multi-year lows. But has the euro been [...]
CHINA COULD PUT LID ON US DOLLAR RALLY April 6, 2010 BORIS SCHLOSSBERG DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT US DATA continues to surprise to the upside, demonstrating that the country is well on its way to recovery and that it should join China as the second driver of global growth in 2010. Although last Friday’s US non-farm payrolls did not exceed the bullish forecasts of 200,000 [...]
Rate hike puts the Aussie on track for strong gains in 2010 April 6, 2010 THE fact that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent yesterday will not have come as much of a surprise to currency traders – a move either this month or next was widely anticipated and given that the May meeting falls just days before the [...]
