All eyes on the Bank but is giving credit all that is due? May 31, 2009 A STRING of economic data is due over the next five days which, after a relative drought recently, are likely to impact investor confidence should there be any surprises. The Bank of England will be acutely aware of this ahead of its interest rate decision on Thursday. With most economists predicting the central bank to [...]
MARK ON THE MARKETS May 31, 2009 THERE will be plenty for the market to mull over this week. Amongst the economic news, we are expecting PMI surveys, consumer confidence and PPI out of the UK; unemployment figures from the eurozone; as well as consumption data-including the Fed’s preferred inflation measure-from the US. On Wednesday we will hear the views of Fed [...]
In a range-bound market, predicting the peak can pay May 31, 2009 FOLLOWING substantial rallies back in April and early May on the back of green shoots, the blue-chip FTSE 100 has levelled off over the past month. Although the pace of decline is slowing, there are concerns that shares have risen too fast. The leading UK index has since been range bound between 4,300 and 4,500. [...]
GERMAN DATA PUTS EURO ON THE BACK FOOT May 31, 2009 THIS week brings policy meetings from the Bank of England, the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank. While the market is not expecting a change in policy from any of these central banks, the rhetoric will be closely monitored for any signs of cautious optimism. The ECB’s policy [...]
THE TIPSTER AVOID THE DASH FOR TRASH May 31, 2009 AN economic recovery still remains uncertain so avoid the “dash for trash” and look for stocks that have intrinsic value. The banks have been having a tough time but one that’s stood out is Standard Chartered, which has been making a series of senior appointments to its capital markets team in recent months. The bank’s [...]
FTSE 100 stalls as traders nerves fail on banking sector May 28, 2009 RENEWED jitters over the health of the financial sector hit banks and offset gains by heavyweight oils yesterday, sending the FTSE 100 0.7 per cent, or 28.69 points, lower at 4,387.54. Banks were the worst performing large caps, with Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland down 0.8 per cent [...]
Falling bond yields cheer Wall Street May 28, 2009 US stocks climbed more than 1 per cent yesterday as higher oil prices drove up energy shares and falling yields in the bond market eased concerns that higher borrowing costs would hinder economic recovery. Energy company shares, including Exxon Mobil, rose as US crude oil settled above $65 a barrel for its highest close since [...]
Banks and retailers rally to steer the FTSE 100 ahead May 27, 2009 GAINS in banks and retailers outweighed weakness in energy stocks and drugmakers yesterday to leave the FTSE 100 up by 0.1 per cent, or 4.51 points, at 4,416.23. Trade was thin with just 67 per cent of the average of the last 90 days of trading transacted with the absence of concrete data on the [...]
Rising yields on US debt dents stocks May 27, 2009 US stocks dropped yesterday as rising yields on US government debt fuelled concern that businesses and consumers could face higher borrowing costs, which could hamper an economic recovery. The decline was broad-based, with manufacturer 3M and International Business Machines among stocks leading a 2 per cent fall on the blue-chip Dow. The S&P and Nasdaq [...]
Keep an eye on geopolitics: it matters to the forex markets May 26, 2009 OPPORTUNISTIC currency traders have always been quick to price in oil price spikes, non-standard monetary policies and signs of green shoots, sending currencies up and down depending on the level of risk aversion in the markets. Risk appetite, or the lack of it, has been a major driver of currency movements since the start of [...]
