Attempts to boost Britain’s small businesses will fail or succeed on the devilish details March 20, 2012 HEAD OF ACCA UK LOOKING to turn the tide of not-entirely-successful business support schemes, in the run-up to this Budget, the Treasury and the Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills unveiled two new projects aimed at boosting Britain’s small businesses. The first, the National Loan Guarantee Scheme, reduces the interest rates of bank loans taken [...]
Dim view of banks puts the brakes on FTSE 100’s rally March 19, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares eased back from last week’s 2012 highs yesterday, as weakness in banks after recent strong gains overshadowed a late-session recovery from miners, with investors awaiting the next catalyst to drive the market. The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed down 4.47 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,961.11. Banks, which spearheaded the FTSE [...]
Wall St buoyed by Apple divi scheme March 19, 2012 THE S&P 500 extended its rally yesterday to climb within 10 per cent of its historic closing high, after Apple said it would pay a $10bn annual dividend and buy back stock. The benchmark index is now at its highest level since May 2008 and 10 per cent below the record close of 1,565.15 set [...]
Spread betting on a basket of stocks March 19, 2012 EXCHANGE-traded funds (ETF) have been seen by many as being one of the greatest financial innovations in recent decades. Offering retail clients cheap and highly liquid exposure to a huge range of markets, despite an initially slow uptake, there are now almost 1,000 ETFs on US exchanges alone. If there’s a sector, there’s probably an [...]
FX MARKETS FOLLOWING THE BOND MARKETS RATHER THAN EQUITIES March 19, 2012 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT OVER the past several weeks, the FX market has undergone a monumental change. Bonds not stocks have become the primary driver of trade for currencies and that one dynamic has been able to explain most of the movement in the dollar both up and down. Instead of the old mantra [...]
THE TIPSTER March 19, 2012 THE management statement from Punch Taverns later today should allow investors to decide whether the glass is really half full or half empty for the pub chain. Last year saw a de-merger and a run of poor results, and the share price in the first quarter of 2012 hasn’t seen much movement at all – [...]
A tough lesson in learning to trade March 19, 2012 THE LEX VAN DAM TRADING ACADEMY EDUCATION is an integral part of trading. When I started working at Goldman Sachs in 1992, I went through a nine-month training program before I did one single trade. The time was spent learning the technical skills that trading requires. I have not stopped learning since. That’s what I [...]
Analyst picks for 20 March 2012 March 19, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Looking to buy euro-Swiss franc Expertise: Combining fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 month to 3 months It’s hard to ignore the Swiss National Bank’s SFr1.2000 floor on the cross and the ability for the market to remain so well supported ahead of the barrier. [...]
THE WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD March 18, 2012 INVESTORS are beginning to wonder if this “Energizer Bunny” of a rally can just keep going without taking a break or a fall. Every Friday for the past couple of months, the question has hung in the back of investors’ minds: Is the stock market’s rally strong enough to continue without a correction? Even with [...]
Budget week will see Italy, inflation and retail in focus March 18, 2012 TODAY I anticipate a quiet start to the week, with a lack of economic announcements from the UK and the US. All eyes are likely to focus on the Eurozone as we get further indication of the health of one of its largest economies. Italy reports industrial order and sales numbers at 9am for January. [...]
