London Report: Utilities drag on FTSE as energy profits debated February 10, 2014 FRESH political pressure on British utilities hit the sector’s stocks yesterday, limiting broader gains in the UK’s top equity index although it rose for the fourth straight session. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up by 0.3 per cent, or 19.87 points, at 6,591.55 points. Gains at British bank Barclays and drugmaker AstraZeneca together added [...]
New York Report: US stocks up as investors await Yellen speech February 10, 2014 STOCKS ended with modest gains yesterday as investors digested recent market gains and looked ahead to new Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s first testimony before lawmakers. The Nasdaq was boosted by strength in large-cap tech and pharma names, but most market participants took a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the testimony, looking for confirmation that the [...]
Globalisation lay behind the Eurozone crisis – but it has also rescued the euro February 10, 2014 THE ARCHITECTS of the European single currency apparently paid little heed to globalisation or the rise of China. The Delors Report in 1989, which set up economic and monetary union in Europe, didn’t mention either of them. Nor did the first official European proposal for monetary union, the Werner Plan in 1970. In retrospect this [...]
Of course we blame politicians for everything – they bring it on themselves February 10, 2014 IN OUR age,” George Orwell once remarked, “there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics’. All issues are political issues.” This, of course, is mainly because politicians have made it so. Politics is everywhere and politicians have an opinion on everything. In 1998, for example, Tony Blair and William Hague expressed concern about [...]
Diversity is great – but quotas for corporates are not the right answer February 10, 2014 THERE are only ten individuals from ethnic minority groups among the 289 top executives at FTSE 100 listed companies, a study by Green Park Diversity Analytics has found. Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, is accordingly threatening that Labour would introduce quotas to get more minority directors on boards. Given the campaign for more women [...]
Letters to the Editor – 11/02 – White-collar jobs, Best of Twitter February 10, 2014 White-collar jobs [Re: Will the spread of automation mean the end of the white-collar worker?, yesterday] Automation is already a reality in financial services. Banks have automated risks systems in place, and vast amounts of money is generated from electronic and algorithmic trading. But the complete replacement of white-collar specialist roles with robots and machines [...]
CNBC Comment: Volatile markets threaten the IPO revival February 10, 2014 THE SELL-DOWN in emerging market assets has seen investors withdraw money at speed. And it may not be over yet. As Nomura analysts have pointed out, just because the selling has been vicious, it doesn’t mean it’s a crowded trade. But stepping away from the herd is private equity. Last year, these cash-hoarders scoured the [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: How to quickly gain an edge in a one-eyed market February 10, 2014 MOST traders tend to stick to a single market and trade accordingly. But they could gain a great deal by leaving this attitude behind and looking at other markets at the same time. Did you know that, a majority of the time, euro-dollar and sterling-dollar trade in the same direction? Yet people still trade them [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Analyst’s pick February 10, 2014 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Stay short sterling-yen, watch for dollar-yen below ¥101.50 Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few weeks The yen was January’s top performer and started February strong. But sterling-yen’s late-week reversal draws further losses into question. We look to the individual [...]
An electric car that truly electrifies February 10, 2014 The first electric city cars didn’t pass muster. Now, Volkswagen has finally given us one to get excited about FRANKLY, we’ve waited far too long for an alternative to the infernal G-Wiz. The original electric city car has been on London’s roads for a decade now, ferrying glum-looking owners for whom the zero-emissions dream was [...]
