Brown and out in Brighton, but the bets are still on September 27, 2009 WITH the prime minister Gordon Brown being asked on television yesterday whether he is on “pills” on the day the Labour Party conference began, the pressure is mounting on the PM. Although he doesn’t have too many close friends at the moment (except Peter Mandelson, naturally) the chances that he will stand down before the [...]
OCTOBER WILL SET OUTLOOK FOR RECOVERY September 27, 2009 JANE FOLEY RESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM ONE year on from the eye of the financial storm, the sense of crisis has abated. The majority of economic data since the second quarter has been far better than most economists would have thought possible in the spring. That said, many warning signs remain and the world cannot shrug [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 24, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading share index lost 1.2 per cent yesterday as a weak US housing report and cautious comments from the Bank of England governor raised investor concern over the pace of economic recovery. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 60.10 points lower at 5,079.27, finishing below the 5,100 level for the first time in [...]
NEW YORK REPORT September 24, 2009 US STOCKS fell yesterday as signs of weakness in housing and investors’ worries that authorities might be curbing stimulus efforts too soon sparked caution. World central banks said they would scale back infusions of US dollars into their banking systems, fueling unease triggered a day earlier when stocks sold off following the US Federal Reserve’s [...]
Good soft skills are key to turning grads into good employees September 23, 2009 IN India right now, a British training firm called Speak First is running a series of “finishing schools” to improve Indian graduates’ soft business skills and increase their chances of gaining employment. The schools address the fact that the academic and intellectual excellence of many Indian graduates is not matched by abilities in areas like [...]
CAREERS CLINIC September 23, 2009 DR LYNDA GRATTONLONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL I’m a manager in a struggling private equity division. Morale is low, and I’m losing confidence in my abilities to motivate the team and make decisions. How can I lead more effectively? YOU’RE in a very common situation in the City at the moment, with small teams of highly-paid and [...]
POUND-EURO PARITY COMES EVER CLOSER September 23, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM ALMOST a year after the pound touched parity with the euro, the recent rapid drop in the value of the pound has raised speculation that euro-sterling could see parity again in the not too distant future. Sterling-dollar – cable – is also at risk of even more losses now that it [...]
Dollar’s days as the world’s only reserve currency could be numbered September 23, 2009 OVER the next two days, world leaders gathered at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh will attempt to address the issue of the persistent global imbalances that have been cited as a long-term cause of the recent economic downturn. Integral to this debate has been the long-standing issue of the US dollar’s hegemonic status as the [...]
The return of risk appetite boosts nuclear, natural gas and coal ETFs September 23, 2009 WITH the UN climate change summit and the G20 meeting later this week, countries’ energy policy is expected to be a hot topic this autumn in the build up to the UN climate change conference being held in Copenhagen in December. Pressure is building on advanced economies to reduce their carbon emissions and develop cleaner [...]
ETPS HAVE BEEN BOOSTED BY CRISIS September 23, 2009 NIZAM HAMIDHEAD OF SALES STRATEGY, ISHARES EUROPE WHILE trading volumes on equities have fallen by 46 per cent during the financial crisis, volumes in exchange-traded products (ETPs) have been comparatively healthy. Over the past year trading volumes in ETPs rose to €54bn from €37bn and as a proportion of trading, they have risen from about [...]
