There’s still some sweetness left in the price of raw sugar this year February 15, 2010 IF THERE was any commodity guaranteed to provide sweet profits for traders in the second half of 2009 it was sugar. Raw prices have more than doubled since mid-2009 to almost 30 cents per pound at the end of January, their highest level since 1981. Like other commodities, sugar has since taken a bit of [...]
BULL OR BEAR, YOU NEED TO BE NIMBLE February 15, 2010 FOR anyone who found last year’s nine-month rally in global equities perplexing, or frustrating, then 2010 seems to have brought a hint of sanity back to the markets. The sell-off of the past few weeks feels like a vindication for those who have been suspicious of the strength of the equity rally since the beginning [...]
Nikkei avoids Toyota’s woes February 15, 2010 JAPANESE corporate culture has taken a beating in recent weeks as one of its biggest companies, Toyota, has recalled more than 9m vehicles worldwide over fears about faulty accelerator pedals, leaving its reputation in tatters. Contracts for difference (CFDs) traders might think that Toyota’s troubles would affect the Nikkei 225, Japan’s stock index, due to [...]
Debt woes expose Eurozone cracks February 15, 2010 FEAR of contagion has forced EU ministers to accept that they must support Greece and in doing so, they may manage to sweep the current crisis under the carpet. But whatever action is taken, it will not solve Greece’s structural problems. The real issue is that the country is not properly equipped to adhere to [...]
Doing the right thing: lawyers may be called upon to do more free work February 15, 2010 HOW about a Robin Hood tax for lawyers? This, or something rather like it, is one of the more provocative ideas being floated by human rights lawyer Sir Geoffrey Bindman in a new collection of essays entitled Closing the Justice Gap: Some New Thinking about an Old Problem. Bindman makes the case for a levy [...]
FIRMS NEED NEW WAYS TO RAISE CASH February 15, 2010 IT has not been good news of late for UK IPOs. First the US travel group Travelport pulled its £1.2bn London flotation after failing to win investors’ support in turbulent markets. The next day, Madame Tussaud’s operator Merlin Entertainment put its £2bn flotation on hold, with severe market volatility blamed for the delay. Fashion retailer [...]
ECONOMIC DIARY February 14, 2010 THE European Union’s rescue plan for Greece is expected to continue to take centre stage this week as traders look for greater clarity from policymakers. The Eurogroup – a committee of the finance ministers of the eurozone – meets today and we may see some market-moving announcements later on. With the US markets closed for [...]
We will soon find out whether the Bank is right February 14, 2010 AMERICAN markets are closed today for Presidents Day but that does obviously not equate to nap time for London traders. With an exceptionally busy economic calendar, this should be a very active week for everybody in the UK. Some of the big, potentially market moving releases include consumer prices, employment numbers, retail sales and the [...]
Buy on the dips to make your profits February 14, 2010 TROUBLES in the Eurozone have caused a retrenchment in risk appetite over the past couple of weeks, and as a result, we have seen equity indices lose their upward momentum. At the start of last week the US Dow dipped below the 10,000 mark for the first time since early November, while the FTSE 100 [...]
Dax’s big fat Greek boost February 14, 2010 THE prospects for Europe’s southern economies may be fading fast, but what is one country’s loss can be another’s gain. The euro, driven lower by investors’ fears over a Greek debt crisis, could be a boon for German exporters. The single currency has fallen steeply against the US dollar; it is down 9 per cent [...]
