Tax dash boosts home buying April 16, 2012 February saw a sharp rise in the number of first-time buyers, according to figures out yesterday from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), as the stamp duty holiday’s end date in March drew closer. A total of 14,100 loans worth £1.7bn were taken out by first-time buyers in the month, up eight per cent by [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 16, 2012 Fleming Family & Partners The private equity firm has appointed two new investment directors. Llewellyn John joins from Nova Capital Management, where he was associate partner. He previously worked at Deloitte from 1999 to 2006, and reached the position of assistant director within corporate finance. Dan Walker has been promoted to investment director, following four [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 16, 2012 ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT JP Morgan says that the asset manager remains its top pick in the sector, but notes that its strong performance in the year to date has been driven by estimate upgrades rather than a re-rating. The share price is now 18 per cent higher than at the start of the year – [...]
Stocks held up by data from across the pond plus resilient corporates April 16, 2012 BRITAIN’S leading share index ended higher yesterday after positive US retail sales data and narrow gains for defensive shares more than offset another slide in banking shares on concerns about Spain. Pharmaceuticals and utilities – sectors that are less exposed to swings in the economic cycle – drove the index higher, with GlaxoSmithKline providing the [...]
Dow gains on retail sales but Nasdaq suffers April 16, 2012 THE Dow rose yesterday as robust US retail sales data helped large-cap consumer stocks, but a four per cent slide in Apple hurt the Nasdaq. US retail sales for March shot up 0.8 per cent, sharply higher than the forecast, pushing Procter & Gamble up 1.5 per cent, while giving Wal-Mart Stores, the world’s largest [...]
AS YIELDS MOVE WIDER, SPANISH WOES CONTINUE TO WEIGH ON THE EURO April 16, 2012 FX360 One of my colleagues wrote last week: “You can’t spell Spain without pain,” and truer words have not been spoken. As currency traders return to a full week of work after the Easter break, euro-dollar finds itself under pressure as credit spreads in the region once again widen out. After a few months of [...]
THE TIPSTER Not just any trading report April 16, 2012 British favourite Marks and Spencer has had a good run so far this year, rallying some 25 per cent before giving some of that back in the recent correction by stock markets. Today’s results will be keenly watched to see just how well its clothing sales have held up where they could benefit from the [...]
Dos and don’ts of mobile trading April 16, 2012 THE rise of mobile trading over the past few years has been tremendous and it’s easy to understand why. Before the launch of the iPhone, most mobile platforms were fairly average with poor usability and a lack of trading tools to make the most out of trading on the move. Today you can trade wherever [...]
Analyst picks for 16 April 2012 April 16, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Looking to buy euro-Swiss franc Expertise: Combining technical and fundamental analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 month to 3 months It is hard to ignore the very well publicised SNB SFr1.2000 floor and ability for the market to remain so well supported by the barrier. Still, the market [...]
Don’t get stuck in a sinking ship: Bail out in good time April 16, 2012 ON AVERAGE, traders are right more than half the time that they trade, but despite that, many see themselves wiped out with big losses. But why is this? All things being equal, if you win more than you lose, you should come out ahead. But while traders are quite willing to cash in their chips [...]
