Disappointing Japanese exports June 20, 2011 Japanese export figures disappointed yesterday, denting the government’s more upbeat assessment of the economic performance and outlook. Exports edged up 2.5 per cent in May compared with April, yet this was below forecasts and a warning sign that overseas demand for Japanese good may prove weaker than earlier thought.
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR | THE SHORTLIST DAY 2 June 20, 2011 LUCKILY for all of us the City is full of rising stars, people we all think will make it to the top. This year’s selection includes Sam Smith, who has been making waves as head of the small cap broker finnCap. We’ve chosen two high-flying lawyers, one investment analyst and a fast rising star from [...]
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR June 20, 2011 ENTREPRENEURSHIP has hogged the political limelight over the last year. David Cameron called on the nation’s “doers and grafters” to “roll up their sleeves” and fix our broken economy. The companies on our list have been pushing ahead, creating the jobs and wealth we desperately need. We are all the winners from their enterprise. We’ve [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 20, 2011 HSBC Ian Henley has been appointed as head of corporate & structured banking in the UK commercial banking team at HSBC, which supports businesses with a turnover above £25m. He succeeds Stuart Grant, who is moving to Hong Kong to take up a new role of global head of corporate for the commercial banking division. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 20, 2011 PREMIER FARNELL UBS raises the electronic components distributor to “neutral” after weak first quarter results now leave less room for valuation downside. US slowdown and company-specific problems in Asia Pacific, where organic sales growth slowed from 11 per cent in the fourth quarter to fivr per cent, lead the broker to think growth will struggle [...]
Banks and commodities fall as Greek debt crisis lingers June 20, 2011 BANKS and commodity stocksdragged Britain’s top index lower yesterday, as Greece’s lingering debt crisis looks likely to stall the FTSE’s progress near-term, analysts said. Investors reacted negatively after European finance ministers postponed a final decision on extending a further €12bn in emergency loans to Greece. The International Monetary Fund weighed in, saying it needed to [...]
Wall St closes up on weak volumes June 20, 2011 US stocks rose yesterday, as the latest development to reduce Greece’s debt helped draw buyers and the S&P 500 touched a key support level, but anaemic volume signalled the recent weakness may not be over. Stocks erased early losses as the S&P 500 dipped toward 1,259.78, its 200-day moving average, which is often viewed as [...]
Calls for more UK housing as prices hold up June 20, 2011 BRITAIN needs more houses to avoid shortages in the near future, a group of economists is expected to announce tonight. Even if net migration levelled out, the UK would still require more housing, the Centre for Economic Performance will state at a lecture in London. “Unfairly perhaps, migrants will nevertheless get a lot of blame,” [...]
Lessons from the past June 20, 2011 WITH Greece teetering on the precipice, and Greek default not being a case of “if” but “when”, traders will be looking to pile in when the crash happens. But can you look at past financial crises to predict the future? Geoffrey Wood is professor of economics at Cass Business School and a former special adviser [...]
OIL PULLBACK BRIGHTENS A GLOOMY VISTA June 20, 2011 THE equity market sell-off which began in May has seen most major global stock indices break below significant technical support levels. The S&P 500 and Russell 2,000 are now both trading near their 200-day moving averages (MA). For the S&P, this comes in at 1,260, with a break below here suggesting a test of 1,246 [...]
