Volcker set to step down as US economic adviser January 5, 2011 FORMER Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker plans to leave his role as head of a panel of experts advising President Barack Obama on the economy, sources familiar with the decision said yesterday. The departure of Volcker, 83, as head of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board is among a series of changes under review at [...]
Hoenig says the Fed’s policy on rates is wrong January 5, 2011 THE Federal Reserve’s most vocal internal critic yesterday pushed back against the US central bank’s effort to control a sometimes-dissonant message, saying it is the duty of those who disagree to vote their conviction. Thomas Hoenig, president of the Kansas City Fed and a known inflation hawk, said the US economy is recovering remarkably well [...]
ECB’S MERSCH: IT IS TIME TO END STIMULUS January 5, 2011 INSTEAD of timidly reducing deficits, governments should be aiming for surpluses, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Yves Mersch said yesterday. The governing council member, who also heads Luxembourg’s central bank, said it was time to withdraw stimulus measures at “a moderate but steady pace.” “Governments will have to achieve surpluses in order to erode massive [...]
All that glisters is not gold January 5, 2011 2010 was a rather remarkable year; it was nearly impossible to lose money. Regardless of whether you invested in bonds, equities, or commodities a year ago, you are probably better off now. But the most impressive performances were in the precious metals sector. The price of gold rose by 30 per cent, while silver closed [...]
THE TIPSTER January 5, 2011 After hitting 28-month highs earlier this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell back slightly on Tuesday to lows of 11,636.88 in intra-day trading. However, yesterday’s rally showed traders are positive about the index, which has rallied hard since trading below 10,000 as recently as 31 August. With analysts predicting a positive year ahead, traders [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS January 5, 2011 DB X-TRACKERS LAUNCHES SHORT EM ETF Deutsche Bank’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform, db x-trackers, has today launched Europe’s first ETF that gives automatic short exposure to emerging markets (EM). The ETF provides investors with the daily inverse performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. It is designed for active, short-term traders and is listed on [...]
Tips to survive the snow this winter January 5, 2011 THE country seems to have just about recovered following the pre-Christmas snow which brought trains and airports to a standstill. But with more snow certain this winter, it’s time to ask just how prepared your own business is for the next “snow down”. Staff stuck at the airport, kids at home from school, customers unable [...]
Qualcomm to buy Atheros in $3.1bn deal January 5, 2011 QUALCOMM plans to buy Atheros Communications for roughly $3.2bn (£2.1bn) in cash, showing its determination to become a major player in supplying chips for smartphones and tablet computers. Qualcomm is clearly betting that the deal – at a 21.6 per cent premium to Atheros’ share price before talk of the takeover began to circulate – [...]
ASK THE GURUS January 5, 2011 John Purkiss Headhunter THE first step is to re-frame your resolution. I suggest, “My resolution for 2011 is to do a job I love”. The second step is to write down on paper what your ideal job would consist of, regardless of where it might be. Then you can visualise it in detail. The third [...]
Qantas to resume A380 to LA January 5, 2011 QANTAS Airways hopes to resume Airbus A380 flights between Australia and Los Angeles from mid-January, as Rolls-Royce finalises its investigation into the cause of a mid-flight engine explosion on one of the aircraft last year. Qantas said yesterday it hoped to resume normal A380 operations from 17 January, but would still need the go-ahead from [...]
