Lower US markets led by commodities March 5, 2012 US stocks fell yesterday for the second straight session and the third in the last four trading days, led lower by basic materials shares after China trimmed its growth target for 2012. The S&P 500 index opened lower and data showing the US services sector expanded in February at its fastest pace in a year [...]
Papering over the cracks – for now March 5, 2012 AFEW months ago, many market watchers were measuring the time until a full-blown disorderly Greek default with an egg timer rather than with a calendar. However, the risk of a Greek implosion – and the risk that such an event would drag the European financial system down with it – has lessened over the course [...]
CANADIAN DOLLAR SHOWS SOME PROMISE, AS AUSSIE DOLLAR HIT BY SLOWDOWN March 5, 2012 THE RESERVE Bank of Australia is expected to keep rates on hold at today’s meeting, but the news may prove cold comfort for the Aussie dollar-dollar pair as currency traders become increasingly concerned about the rate of economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. As this week opened for trade, the Aussie was the weakest link [...]
THE TIPSTER March 5, 2012 INSURER Admiral endured choppy waters in 2011, seeing its share price drop to a nadir of 800p due to worries about bans on referral fees and a profit warning in the latter half of the year. 2012 has seen better sailing, but the company will need to show signs that the increase in claims has [...]
Trading screen of the future March 5, 2012 THE IPC “trader cockpit” is an intriguing piece of design. It integrates video streaming, voice and video calling and the ability to set up automatic filters depending on the big market news that the system picks up at the time. It is clean-looking compared to some more Heath Robinson setups and looking at it, you [...]
IPC’s tech trends to look for in 2012 March 5, 2012 Exponential increases in amount of data (“Big Data”) to analyse in support of trade decisions. Advanced financial instruments and increased government regulations driving more complex trading workflows. Algorithmic trading and electronic trading leading to more frequent trades and less natural liquidity. Traders being pulled into more parts of the trading workflow – research, analytics, customer [...]
Analyst picks for 6 March 2012 March 5, 2012 FOREX STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Sell dollar-yen above ¥81.00, stop-loss on close above ¥82.50 Expertise: Technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week Although we are in the process of a major structural shift, with the market looking to carve a longer-term cyclical bottom after record lows back in October, [...]
The week ahead: Oil, gas, defence and UK interest March 4, 2012 Today Petrofac, a solutions provider to the oil and gas industry, announces full year results today. The first set of results after a restructuring exercise in 2011 could see a hike in profits. Petrofac has recently been awarded an Iraqi oilfield project, building on its presence in the region. Glencore is announcing its full-year numbers [...]
THE WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD March 4, 2012 THE five-month stock rally has been built on a string of improving economic data that suggests US corporate profit growth will remain intact, according to some analysts. Job growth is a big part of that picture. It has lagged most other parts of the US economy, a point frequently raised by Republican presidential hopefuls. But [...]
UK venture capitalism: Opportunities and costs March 4, 2012 JACOB MOSELEY THE venture capital industry in the UK, and the rest of Europe, is in something of a state of flux. During the tech bubble era, venture capital fundraising and investment activity expanded rapidly, but when the bubble burst, many firms struggled to survive the subsequent economic downturn. This has led to a consolidation [...]
