When you are betting on the oil price, timing is all-important October 28, 2009 JUST how high can the oil price go? It broke through $80 last week, and in the past few days Barclays Capital analysts said that they think that oil has now made the transition into a higher trading band and a sustained improvement in demand should continue eating into excess inventories. The chances of oil [...]
LOCK IN YOUR PROFIT BUT STAY EXPOSED October 28, 2009 ALEXANDRE HOUPERTHEAD OF LISTED PRODUCTS UK, SG CORPORATE & INVESTMENT BANKINGFOLLOWING strong rallies in global equity markets, many traders are now keen to extract some of the profit that they have earned on existing positions to free up capital and to protect themselves, should we see a pullback in stocks. However, these same investors will [...]
The City is finding its touchy-feely side but it’s still survival of the fittest October 28, 2009 WHEN Bruce Wasserstein died a couple of weeks ago, it was the end of an era. Wasserstein was the epitome of the red braces-wearing, ball-breaking business style that for many still defines the Wall Street and the City. He was known to respond the problems by giving a lecture telling colleagues to “dare to be [...]
CAREERS CLINIC October 28, 2009 JOANNA CROSSE, AUTHOR OF ‘FIND YOUR VOICE’ I’ve been promoted to a role that involves making regular presentations, but I’m no good at public speaking. How can I be more confident at making speeches? THE first mistake made by many people who are fearful of public speaking is thinking they have to be like someone [...]
BGGroup’s poor results push FTSE100 to three week low October 28, 2009 BRITAIN’s top shares fell 2.3 per cent to hit a three-week closing low yesterday, dragged down by falls in energy stocks after BG Group posted a sharp drop in net profit, while miners tracked weaker metals. The market also came under pressure on data showing new US homes sales unexpectedly tumbled in September, their first [...]
Wall Street falls on weak home sales October 28, 2009 US stocks tumbled in a broad sell-off yesterday, sending the benchmark S&P 500 lower for a fourth straight day, after weak data on new home sales heightened concerns about the pace of the economic recovery. Financials, technology, materials and industrial sectors, which underpinned the market’s advance from March, bore the brunt of the slide as [...]
The long arm of US litigation is reaching over the Atlantic October 27, 2009 A COURT case launched in New York this month by shareholders from England, France and the Netherlands against French media company Vivendi, alleging fraud, has struck fear into European executives worried that they too might find themselves on the receiving end of US litigation. It is rare for the American courts to allow foreign shareholders [...]
Be aware of the law if you are setting up on your own October 27, 2009 WHETHER or not the recession has come to an end is still up for debate but it is clear that, for some, the phoenix is already rising from the ashes. The latest stats indicate that the number of new applications for FSA authorisations in London over the last quarter equalled the number of cancellations, so [...]
BONUS GRAB WILL FACE LEGAL TEST October 27, 2009 PAUL LAMBDINEMPLOYMENT PARTNER AT STEVENS & BOLTON LLP THERE is growing anger in the City at the shadow chancellor’s suggestion that bonuses for this year should be limited to £2,000 in cash, with anything more paid in shares. This proposal is only possible because City bonuses are generally based upon the “discretion” of the employer. [...]
Real’s rise cannot be stopped by inflows tax October 27, 2009 SINCE 2007, we have been repeatedly told that the US dollar needs to weaken in order to rectify the global imbalances that were, at least partially, to blame for the economic downturn. But not everybody has welcomed the greenback’s recent decline. European officials have already been making noises about how the strength of the euro [...]
