Bond markets could be about to change gear June 1, 2010 SOVEREIGN risk has risen as the debt problems facing Greece have come out into the open. And volatility in the bond markets is likely to continue after Fitch, the ratings agency, downgraded Spain late last week, reigniting concerns about credit risks. All of this has caused a massive divergence in bond yields and countries perceived [...]
NET INCOME – AND GROSS DEBT HABITS June 1, 2010 DICK TURPIN MANAGING DIRECTOR, ARTEMIS DEBT is the issue. The sub-prime parcel went round and round. But governments simply nationalised that $2 trillion when the music of Lehman Brothers and others stopped in September 2008. At $9 trillion, the combined public and private debt of the troubled European countries is another matter altogether, demeaning markets [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS June 1, 2010 GUINNESS FAMILY OFFICE’S NEW FUND Iveagh Private Investment House – home of the Guinness family’s office – along with 47 Degrees North Capital Management have launched the new Iveagh Newcits Fund at the start of June. This is a fund of Ucits hedge funds that is within a Ucits structure, which offers investors – both [...]
The chances of a strong pound are still bleak June 1, 2010 SO WHAT now for the pound? Not even a Conservative-led coalition and a credible plan to cut public spending has been enough to lift the UK currency out of its malaise – it has fallen 5 per cent against the dollar in the past month and has been unable to break above the €1.18 mark [...]
The dollar is a tough act to follow June 1, 2010 WITH speculation growing that the dollar could be forming a short-term top, Deutsche Bank has released research suggesting “an increasing likelihood of dollar correction”. The bank suggests that the dollar’s rally to over two standard deviations above its 200-day moving average is a strong indicator that a dip could be imminent. As the bank reports, [...]
THE YEN IS NO LONGER SUCH A SAFE HAVEN June 1, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT IF POLITICIANS in the West want to cheer themselves up all they have to do is look at the approval ratings of Yukio Hatayama. Less than 20 per cent of the electorate feels that Japan’s prime minister is doing a good job. Even Richard Nixon still had the trust and [...]
THE TIPSTER June 1, 2010 AS PREDICTED in this column yesterday, a collapse in the Prudential-AIG deal was always going to see cable pop upwards as a result of the massive hedge that was in place needing to be unwound. Cue a 260 pip rally yesterday following news that the deal is almost certainly off by the end of the [...]
Fears over BP’s survival drags FTSE 100 lower as the latest bid to plug leak fails June 1, 2010 TOP shares fell yesterday led by a plunge in BP shares after the company’s failure to stem an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but they finished off lows thanks to upbeat US construction data. The FTSE 100 closed down 25.13 points or 0.5 per cent at 5,163.30, its lowest close since 26 May, [...]
Slide in energy shares hits US as jittery investors sell June 1, 2010 US stocks fell yesterday as energy shares slid after the latest failed attempt to halt the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the US government announced a criminal probe into the disaster. Investors punished shares of companies directly involved with the spill and losses accelerated into the close following the news of the [...]
Vodafone in $2bn Indian tax setback June 1, 2010 VODAFONE’s long-running battle over an acquisition it made three years ago continued yesterday when India’s tax department served a new notice on it, which could see the pair battle it out in court afresh. The case relates to Vodafone’s $11bn (£7.5bn) acquisition of Hutchison Essar in 2007. Indian authorities believe Vodafone should have paid a [...]
