BEST OF THE BROKERS October 24, 2011 VIVENDI Nomura rates the French entertainment and media group as “neutral” with a target price of €20.60, after revising its estimates for tax changes and lowering its forecast for dividend per share. The broker says management is likely to err on the side of caution when setting dividends, and says changes to French tax rules [...]
FTSE 100 hits fresh high as good China data lifts miners October 24, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index hit a two-and-a-half-month closing high yesterday, as strong manufacturing data in China lifted miners and on hopes that plans to end the Eurozone debt crisis will be announced at a summit this week. Miners rose 5.6 per cent, contributing 34 points to the UK benchmark, as China’s manufacturing sector showed expansion [...]
Caterpillar profits fuel Wall St gains October 24, 2011 US stocks rose yesterday as a flurry of merger activity and strong earnings from Caterpillar boosted investor sentiment and kept the three-week rally intact. Equities have risen on hopes a resolution to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis is on the horizon and a reduced likelihood of a US recession after stronger-than-expected corporate results and economic data. [...]
David Cameron has a point on Europe: We need a vote, but the time isn’t quite ripe October 24, 2011 YESTERDAY’S Tory backbench rebellion over a referendum on Europe has highlighted again how Conservative leaders seem effortlessly capable of creating a political crisis out of a drama whenever the EU edges to the top of the agenda. To be sure, none of the three main parties have a consistent or honourable record on the question [...]
The Russians are coming: Roll out the red carpets October 24, 2011 BACK in the mid-1960s, I wasted a wet afternoon watching a truly silly film. The plot was a melange of bluster, misunderstanding, clashing cultures and xenophobia. The title was The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming. Readers with an interest in the City’s health will recognise a plot that is in danger of repeating [...]
Ireland can help teach experts to be modest October 24, 2011 WHAT lessons can Britain draw from Ireland? Institutions in Crisis: European Perspectives on the Recession is a new book edited by monetary economist David Howden, presenting essays on how the financial crisis has played out across Europe. I have a chapter on Ireland, in which I make a fairly simple argument. In 2007, Irish real [...]
RAPID RESPONSES October 24, 2011 Thrive responsibly Bill Durodie [Why so-called corporate-social responsibility is not the answer to our problems, yesterday] appears to be under the spell of the ancient myths of corporate social responsibility (CSR) – myths that the majority of the FTSE have left behind long ago. A study today of FTSE 100 and increasingly FTSE 250 corporate [...]
Snoop a scoop: Economic data announcements October 24, 2011 TRADING without reference to economic announcements is a risky bet, even if they are used simply as an indication that it’s time to get out of the market. However, avoid getting bogged down in too much data – as this can obscure the useful with the useless. EMPLOYABLE DATA Non-farm payrolls, explains Angus Campbell of [...]
keep one eye on any move in the dax October 24, 2011 EQUITIES staged a strong rally towards the end of last week. The move took a number of stock indices back up through significant resistance levels. The FTSE 100 broke above its 100-day moving average, around the 5,500 mark, while the major US indices behaved with even greater bullish conviction. A few pieces of better-than-expected economic [...]
THE TIPSTER October 24, 2011 THE tobacco firms have been popular defensive plays in the recent uncertainty, but with global economic sentiment rallying – at least temporarily – the risk has to be that stocks like this start to lag. However, British American Tobacco has an interim management statement due on Wednesday that will doubtless provide further reminders over the [...]
