CFTC action is good for UK forex dealers January 19, 2010 After giving energy traders a relatively easy deal in a bid to curb speculation in the commodity markets last week, the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) has now turned its attentions to forex. The agency is proposing a dramatic regulatory overhaul for the foreign exchange markets in the US, worth more than $3.6 trillion a [...]
EURO-DOLLAR HANGING IN THE BALANCE January 19, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT Although the year is barely two weeks old it is already becoming abundantly clear to most currency traders that rates on both sides of the Atlantic are like to remain stationary for most of 2010. Last Thursday, at the European Central Bank’s monthly press conference, president Jean-Claude Trichet provided a [...]
Pound rises on Greek woes January 19, 2010 AS ANY British tourist heading to the Eurozone or the US will be aware, our pounds don’t go half as far as they used to. Sterling has been the whipping boy of the currency markets for over a year now and there’s little sign, at least in terms of the big picture, that we Brits [...]
The Tipster January 19, 2010 STERLING has been having a storming week and traders are beginning to reconsider their uber-bearish view of the pound. Yesterday’s record inflation data – the annual consumer prices index leapt to 2.9 per cent – is likely to be followed by a period of high inflation. This is forecast to put pressure on the Monetary [...]
Drugmakers give FTSE a lift as investors bet on healthcare January 19, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index ended up 0.3 per cent yesterday, led by pharmaceuticals on hopes that US President Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms could be hampered, while banks fell after results from US bank Citigroup. The FTSE 100 index rose 18.75 points to 5,513.14, extending Monday’s gains when the market rose 0.7 per cent. Pharmaceuticals echoed [...]
Strong IBM result boosts tech shares January 19, 2010 US stocks rose broadly yesterday, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh 15-month closing highs as investors bet a potential Republican victory in Massachusetts’ Senate race could stall Obama’s reform agenda. Wall Street also got a boost from technology shares, which rallied in anticipation of strong earnings from bellwether International Business Machines, which [...]
Nokia win proves that IP is taking centre stage January 19, 2010 EARLIER this week, mobile phone maker Nokia won a legal case against German intellectual property company IPCom in the High Court in London. The court ruled that Nokia does not have to pay IPCom to use the technology for which it owns patents. IPCom is one of the intellectual property (IP) companies known as “patent [...]
Proposed regulation is all sizzle and no steak January 19, 2010 INVESTORS trying to ensure they have a diverse portfolio of assets have probably dipped into the commodity markets at some point over the last two years. If you are thinking of doing the same, you need to be aware of changes to the regulatory landscape. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) – the energy markets [...]
Small caps are predicted to outperform again in 2010 January 19, 2010 AFTER being decimated during the financial crisis of 2008, smaller cap companies enjoyed an outstanding 2009 according to RBS’s Hoare Govett Smaller Companies (HGSC) index. The index, which consists of the bottom tenth by value of listed UK equities not including the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), recorded an absolute performance of 54.2 per cent. This [...]
Greece woes spoil continental party January 18, 2010 EUROPEAN shares rose in early trade yesterday, recovering some of Friday’s losses, with miners gaining on higher metals prices. In morning trading, the FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.6 per cent at 1,058.15 points. Miners were among early gainers, as copper rose on hope that strong Chinese demand could cut inventories. Precious metals were also [...]
