People don’t come here for the weather December 13, 2009 In 1733, Voltaire, one of France’s greatest thinkers, wrote a series of letters on the English nation, describing some of the extraordinary going-ons he had discovered during his exile to this country. The findings scandalised many of his French readers, then a truly statist and anti-capitalist nation. “Go into the London Stock Exchange – a [...]
WallStreet falls on recovery fears December 7, 2009 The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended slightly lower yesterday and the Dow was flat, reversing earlier gains, after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked jitters about the economic recovery. Financial and technology shares were among the biggest drags on the market. The S&P lost 1.6 per cent while the KBW Bank Index shed [...]
Efforts to stem FX inflows are futile November 24, 2009 WHEN Brazil introduced a tax on capital inflows last month, it was a clear sign that governments are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact on their economies and on their currencies of a weakening dollar, and of foreign investors piling into their stock markets and bonds in search of higher yields. Other emerging nations have [...]
Rio Tinto to earn $741m in IPO November 22, 2009 The global mining group Rio Tinto expects to receive at least $741m (£449m) from the flotation of its US coal-mining unit, Cloud Peak Energy, on the New York Stock Exchange, Rio said today. Cloud Peak Energy shares fell in their debut on Friday after its shares priced below expectations in the initial public offer. Rio [...]
Poor building data halts Wall St gains November 18, 2009 US stocks broke three days of gains yesterday following worrisome outlooks from two major software makers and a surprising drop in home construction last month. But stocks sharply cut the session’s losses just before close as many investors pointed to a strong uptrend in equities that have pushed major indexes to 13-month highs in recent [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 17, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES BARCLAYS RETAIL CHIEF WARNS NEW ENTRANTSThe new head of global retail banking at Barclays has joined the backlash of traditional bankers against the entry into banking of supermarkets and other consumer companies. Antony Jenkins said the new competitors may be under-estimating the difficulties of breaking into the market. APOLLO SETS SIGHTS ON NYSE [...]
Busy week for US offerings November 15, 2009 UP to six companies will try to go public this week, in what could be the US’s busiest week of the year for initial public offerings. The IPOs include a $520m (£310m) offering on the New York Stock Exchange from coal mining company Cloud Peak Energy and a $69m deal from national security specialist Global [...]
Conflicting signals halt winning streak November 10, 2009 US stocks closed mostly lower yesterday as differing views on whether the market can build on recent gains stalled the S&P 500’s six-day winning streak. The Dow industrials eked out a small gain to set a fresh 13-month high as cautious statements on the economic outlook from several Fed officials underscored the belief that easy [...]
THE NEW YORK REPORT November 9, 2009 A broad US stocks rally sent the Dow industrials to a 13-month high last night, after the Group of 20 pledged to keep aid flowing to the world economy, strengthening investors’ desire for risk. The agreement by G20 finance ministers and central bankers over the weekend to keep stimulus in place boosted global stocks on [...]
Buffett sees third quarter profits triple November 8, 2009 THE world’s second-richest man, Warren Buffett, has seen profits for his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway almost triple in the third quarter to $3.2bn (£1.9bn). Strong markets and derivatives gains in the three months to September, up from $1.1bn for the same period last year, have caused the improvement. It marks a strong recovery from a [...]