US market falls as fears on European banks weigh September 7, 2010 US stocks fell in very light volume yesterday as investors seized on renewed concerns about European banks as a reason to sell shares after strong gains last week. Banks, energy companies and chipmakers were the biggest decliners. Trading was among the lightest of the year, with 6.07bn shares traded on the NYSE, Nasdaq and Amex [...]
Size does matter: the rise of the mega pension fund September 7, 2010 FOR pension funds, size really does matter. While the need to match assets and liabilities concerns all funds, big or small, the largest face unique advantages and challenges. And the number of large funds is growing. Last week, the IPE Global Top 1,000 survey of institutional investors highlighted the rise of the mega-fund, showing that [...]
Make sure your active fund manager earns her fee September 7, 2010 FOR years, the debate has raged over whether hedge funds and actively managed funds – in which managers pick assets individually as opposed to simply tracking an index – are worth their high fees. Now, research by Saltus Partners suggests that the current economic climate makes it particularly difficult for active funds to differentiate themselves. [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS September 7, 2010 NEW ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND TO LAUNCH Threadneedle has this week announced plans to launch its UK Absolute Alpha Fund in the fourth quarter of this year, bolstering the asset management house’s range of absolute return funds and responding to growing client appetite for such products. Mark Westwood and Chris Kinder, who both have long/short experience, [...]
Złoty jumps as leu sinks September 7, 2010 THE Polish złoty broke out of a two-week trading range this week, strengthening from 4.017zł to 3.9277zł to the euro – a level close to that seen in May during the explosion of the euro crisis. The movement is the latest in a growing divergence among Eastern Europe’s most widely traded currencies. While, on the [...]
THE SWISSIE: A SAFE HAVEN FOR TRADERS September 7, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT ONE of the strongest trends in the currency market this year has also been one of the least noticed. While the majority of currency traders have been focusing on dollar-yen as risk aversion flows pushed that pair to 15 year lows, the Swiss franc has quietly forged a massive rally [...]
Get exposure to fast markets by day trading FX September 7, 2010 DOLLAR-STERLING moved 150 points on Monday’s US Labor Day holiday. The market clearly did not take a break. It is a reminder that the restless forex market offers day traders real opportunities: tight spreads and sharp movements that can be dipped in and out of at low cost. The volatility can mean big wins, but [...]
THE TIPSTER September 7, 2010 YESTERDAY the dollar hit a 15-year low against the yen. Much has been made of the effect this will have on the Japanese recovery. Monday saw the Bank of Japan announce that interest rates will remain unchanged, and that the quantitative easing programme will not be extended to defeat deflation. Some think that the yen [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS September 7, 2010 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Stay short cable from $1.55; long euro-Swissie above SFr1.3150 Expertise: Combining fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 day-1 week My interest in the sterling last week has paid off more with my sterling-Aussie short (having booked profit) than my sterling-dollar short. I will remain short [...]
Clash of cultures can scupper law firms’ mergers September 7, 2010 THE Americans are coming. Hammonds has become the latest firm to announce that it is to merge with a US firm, confirming last week that it is to link up with Squire Sanders. It follows the merger of Hogan & Hartson and Lovells earlier in the year, and the announcement that SJ Berwin is talking [...]
