What Bernanke might dig up at Jackson Hole August 23, 2011 WHEN Ben Bernanke makes his speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, the markets will be hanging on his every word. Helicopter Bernanke picked up his nickname after referring to a Milton Friedman statement about using a helicopter drop of money to fight deflation, and market watchers will be listening for any sign that [...]
STRONG YEN COULD INVITE INTERVENTION August 23, 2011 PITY the poor Japanese policymakers. As global economic growth slows, the yen continues to appreciate against all reason, hurting the export driven economy that’s already been battered by natural disaster and chronic deflation. At the end of last week dollar-yen hit a fresh record low of ¥75.95 as the trend intensified. The strength in the [...]
THE TIPSTER August 23, 2011 STERLING rose sharply against the dollar yesterday as traders sought alternative currencies amid the continued concern over US and European debt levels. Spread betters were targeting a potential test of highs of $1.6618, touched last week. However, analysts are voicing caution over a possible fall in the strength of the pound on Friday should GDP [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS August 23, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Long dollar-yen and euro-dollar. Short euro-Swiss franc Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week We are facing huge fundamental themes that could dramatically alter the course of the markets, depending upon developments in the coming weeks. The setups I’m looking [...]
No frills and certainly no thrills August 23, 2011 THE name Bipper Tepee promises a fun, nifty little car, something with quirky styling and even quirkier personalisation options on the inside, perhaps. And, while it’s no Nissan Cube on the styling front, it’s fair to say that Peugeot’s Bipper Tepee is a reasonably fun-looking car. That said, it does bear more than a passing [...]
CAR TALK August 23, 2011 VW CITY CAR The is Volkswagen’s tiny city car which is being launched at next month’s Frankfurt motor show. Small but as spacious as possible inside, the four-seater will go on sale with a 60PS or75PS three-cylinder petrol engine capable of up to 67mpg with less than 100g/km of CO2. An electric version is coming [...]
Gold surges past $1,900 mark August 22, 2011 GOLD spiralled past the $1,900 mark in after-hours trading last night, setting yet another record high for the safe-haven asset. It reached a peak of $1,917.90 on the futures market before falling back slightly. Spot gold also reached the milestone, with the sputtering global economy boosting expectations for further monetary easing and raising bullion’s appeal [...]
Rebels fight for Tripoli as Gaddafi disappears August 22, 2011 REMNANTS of forces still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi staged a desperate stand in Tripoli last night as rebels surged through the streets of the capital, but the whereabouts of the Libyan leader were a mystery. World leaders urged Gaddafi to surrender to prevent more bloodshed and appealed for an orderly transition of power, as the [...]
Hopes for oil supply boost Libya majors August 22, 2011 SHARES in oil companies whose supply chains have been disrupted by the civil war in Libya rose yesterday, as investors bet on a swift return to production by some of Europe’s biggest players. Despite a drop in the price of oil futures during trading, shares in Italy’s ENI, French major Total and Austria’s OMV rose [...]
Pathetic markets want Bernanke to save them August 22, 2011 IT was heady stuff. The price of gold smashed through the $1,900 level in after-hours trading last night, as investors worried about instability and inflation piled into the precious metal. It was not just gold: equities also rose yesterday. Libya helped, of course, but there was one much more powerful reason why stock markets gained ground: [...]
