Best of the brokers January 23, 2013 BARCLAYS Investec upgraded the bank yesterday on the back of new investment bank job cuts. Although the market knew some staff were being trimmed, the scale took the analysts by surprise. “Consensus still appears to underestimate the material benefit that will flow through the Barcap cost line as headcount and pay are rebased to the [...]
Unilever and Tullow Oil help drive FTSE briefly over key 6,200 level January 23, 2013 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 share index hit the 6,200 level for the first time since May 2008 yesterday after Unilever got the UK earnings season off to an encouraging start, sending its stock to a record high. Shares of the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company rose 3.1 per cent to top 2,500p for the first time ever [...]
US rises again as Google and IBM lift mood January 23, 2013 THE S&P 500 rose for a sixth day yesterday after stronger-than-expected profits from IBM and Google but the rally could be halted as Apple’s after-hours miss send its shares lower. The S&P was just 4.7 per cent from its all-time closing high as IBM’s and Google’s earnings, released after Tuesday’s close, followed on the heels [...]
Conservative unity on Europe will break open deep Labour fractures January 23, 2013 DAVID Cameron’s Europe speech united the Conservative party. But it also created two enormous challenges: one for Cameron himself and one for Ed Miliband. In 2009, with the Lisbon Treaty ratified, Cameron and William Hague decided it would be absurd to have a retrospective referendum. They announced a new policy, including a sovereignty bill, a [...]
European Union anxieties don’t demolish the case for a level playing field January 23, 2013 WE’RE doing the Euro hokey cokey: in, out, in out, shake it all about. We were out, we’re now in, we might be out again, but in the meantime we are certainly shaking it about. Indeed, the reaction from other governments is that the UK is shaking things up far too much. Like everyone under [...]
One-size-fits-all isn’t the route to rigorous A-Levels January 23, 2013 THE announcement by Michael Gove that the government is planning to reform A-Levels in England will be broadly welcomed. Many syllabuses and exams are completely inadequate. They do not provide the preparation for university that the brightest students deserve, and are justifiably criticised by employers for lack of rigour. It’s also right for the government [...]
Will other EU countries block any attempt by the UK to renegotiate its membership? January 23, 2013 YES John Springford David Cameron seems to have made it his mission to frustrate other EU countries. This means his plea for renegotiation will be (largely) rebuffed. What has Cameron done to upset the others? First, he took the Conservatives out of the centre-right group in the European Parliament. Then he threatened to veto the Eurozone’s [...]
Letters to the editor January 23, 2013 EU negotiation [Re: Cameron’s EU balancing act makes treaty renegotiation unavoidable, yesterday] This article overwhelms with its lack of ambition. It argues that EU partners will let us reform the terms of our membership, but only if we stick to those reforms they already agree with. What of the membership requirements they want to keep or [...]
CFA charter has won converts beyond investment analysis January 23, 2013 THE Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter is widely considered to be the professional credential of choice for the investment industry. Its course is designed to provide the full breadth of knowledge necessary to understand all the major investment products, alongside instruction in financial reporting, corporate governance and economics. All this is underpinned by a grounding [...]
Why the investment credential is moving fast to stay relevant January 23, 2013 THE Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme aims to produce individuals with a good understanding of the key techniques, major asset classes, and ethical and professional standards most needed in today’s investment industry. The course is made up of three progressive levels of study. Level I focuses primarily on testing investment tools, Level II on asset [...]
