No more bunga bunga, but bonds are still high November 14, 2011 THE European political machine flexed its muscles last week, first in Greece and then, more significantly, in Italy. A nudge from its European benefactors was enough for Greece to topple its prime minister George Papandreou after months of pressure and confidence votes. The Greek parliament moved to appoint a man who ticked all the European [...]
BERLUSCONI, OIL AND A LOAD OF EUROS November 14, 2011 LAST Wednesday, global stock indices took a dive as Italian bond yields soared. Having waved off George Papandreou as Greek Prime Minister, bondholders turned their attention to Italy. Investors began to panic as the yield on Italy’s 10-year BTPs flew above 7 per cent – a level which saw Greece, Ireland and Portugal require emergency [...]
Ask the experts: what’s to come November 14, 2011 ALPARI JAMES HUGHES Now gold has finished its relentless march higher, traders have almost started to take stock of the wreckage of all other asset classes. It was inevitable after the huge surge in prices that, once the end came, the profit takers would be out in force moving prices significantly lower again. However, while [...]
THE TIPSTER November 14, 2011 THE London Stock Exchange has been finding things tough recently battling against protesters sitting outside its head office and the prospect of a Europe-wide financial transaction tax. On top of this, several failed mergers and takeovers of the exchange have left it in a tricky position when compared to the competition. On Wednesday it releases [...]
Five weird and wonderful things to get trading November 14, 2011 1 The Vix index The Vix, also known as the fear index, allows traders to bet on the expected volatility of the stock market in the next 30 days. Mike van Dulken, the head of research at Accendo Markets, says: “It’s great if you’re long stocks or commodities. It’s a great hedge.” 2 Lumber Trading [...]
Markets hoping for economic decisions November 13, 2011 WEDNESDAY’S sharp sell-off across major global stock indices showed just how skittish markets are currently. The slump in Italian bond prices did the damage as yields flew higher. The situation calmed down towards the end of the week as the political situation in Greece and Italy became clearer. Former ECB vice president Lucas Papademos was [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD November 13, 2011 WALL Street is stuck in a highly volatile range as investors hoping for a rally into the end of the year are browbeaten by Europe’s unfolding crisis. For months, investors have been enthusing about valuations, earnings and, more recently, signs of an improving economy. Those may be good reasons why stocks should rally, but even [...]
How to sell your trading homework November 13, 2011 HERE are two innovations that allow traders who have developed a successful strategy or system to make money from it. Zignals and eToro approach things from different directions, but both are interesting developments for traders. ETORO The beauty of the eToro CopyMe system is in its simplicity. If you have a tempting strategy, traders can [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD November 13, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Today, Electrocomponents announces its results for the half year ended 30 September. The Oxford-based company is the world’s largest distributor of electronics and maintenance products and will be hoping that there are no blown fuses over the results. ● Lonmin, the platinum producer with the bulk of its operations in South Africa [...]
THE TIPSTER November 13, 2011 THE retreat of gold from the $1,800 highs last week found good support from the former resistance level around $1,750. It finished last week on a strong footing, back above the key $1,772 Fibonacci level. $1,800 proved strong resistance though, so look to either sell short as it approaches it again, or buy above $1,805 [...]
