The European sovereign debt bomb is ticking May 17, 2011 JEAN-CLAUDE Juncker, chairman of the Eurozone’s finance ministers, said yesterday that Greece may have to ask investors to either extend the maturities of its bonds or agree to a soft restructuring. This follows on from the Greek foreign minister Dimitris Droutsas saying that the country was open to soft debt restructuring if needed. But in [...]
CABLE STANDS AT THE FOREX CROSSROADS May 17, 2011 PITY the poor Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Nowhere in the G10 universe is inflation so virulent and growth so anaemic as in the UK economy. Yesterday’s UK CPI data printed much hotter than expected, rising at an annual rate of 4.5 per cent versus 4.2 per cent eyed. UK inflation rose by 1.0 per cent [...]
THE TIPSTER May 17, 2011 AS crude oil fell below $97 in line with other commodities, the knock on effect was a negative impact for the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar. Crude oil is Canada’s biggest export and the largest supplier of crude to the US. If crude continues in its current trend, it could prove detrimental for the [...]
HEARD ON THE SQUARE MILE May 17, 2011 The Financial Traders and Brokers Network is hosting an event with Gregory Zuckerman on 26 May. Zuckerman pens the widely read “Heard on the Street” column for the Wall Street Journal and appears on CNBC twice a week to explain complex trades. He is a two-time winner of the Gerald Loeb Award for coverage of [...]
Growing debt will push the dollar lower May 17, 2011 IN A trick worthy of the great escapologist Harry Houdini, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has avoided hitting the US debt limit of $14,300bn by under-investing in social security and delaying debt auctions. However, creative accounting can only get a country so far. At some point the authorities need to deal with their fiscal profligacy and [...]
Sterling’s outlook waiting on rates May 17, 2011 IG INDEX DAVID JONES Tuesday saw the usual flurry in forex markets when the latest UK inflation figures were released, showing annual CPI at a larger than widely expected 4.5 per cent. The pound rallied half a cent against the US dollar in very short order and then over the course of the next few [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS May 17, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST DAVID RODRIGUEZ My pick: Sell euro-dollar against $1.4340 Expertise: System Trading Average time frame of trades: 2 days to 10 weeks I remain short the euro against the US dollar from last week, as I think we have recently seen an important top in the euro-dollar. FXCM’s proprietary Speculative Sentiment Index (SSI) data [...]
Osborne caught in a tangle over tax May 17, 2011 HEAD OF TAX, ACCA A YEAR on and coalition relations are distinctly less rosy than they were in the rose garden last May. But despite recent tensions the coalition has already made plenty of progress in reshaping Britain: radical reforms to welfare, education, and healthcare have all been initiated. From an accountant’s perspective though, one [...]
Kylie’s favourite luxe eco-mobile May 17, 2011 The Lexus CT200h will probably be familiar to you whether you’re a Kylie fan or not. It’s the hybrid car she’s been driving since February – on TV at least – and it’s the smallest car that Lexus has made. Lexus is the Japanese answer to BMW or Audi and it has stolen a march [...]
CAR TALK May 17, 2011 RENAULT’S ELECTRIC CAR A HIT WITH HOLLYWOOD. If you doubt whether electric cars are glamorous just take a look at the cars Hollywood’s A-listers are being ferried around Cannes in. Fully-electric (and silent) Renault Fluence Z.E models are busy chauffeuring actors and industry bigwigs around the red carpets of Cannes, despite the fact that the [...]
