THE TIPSTER April 28, 2010 BLANKET short selling restrictions have been brought in for shares listed in Greece, which could temporaily delay further falls in the local index especially against other euro nations. While this doesn’t prevent prices from falling, declines could be less marked. A short-term long position in Greek stocks is an interesting half of a pairs trade. [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS April 28, 2010 MARKIT TO LAUNCH ETF ENCYCLOPEDIAJESSICA MEAD Global financial information services company Markit announced earlier this week that it would launch Markit ETF Services, a a package of products that includes an encyclopedia, trade data and ETF dividends. The encyclopedia is a global reference database of all 2,700 ETFs available worldwide, categorised by asset class, type, region [...]
FTSE drops after Spain downgrade April 28, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed lower yesterday, extending the previous session’s steep falls, after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s credit rating to AA, overshadowing strong corporate earnings. The FTSE 100 index closed down 16.91 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,586.61, after it tumbled 2.6 per cent on Tuesday — its biggest one-day [...]
Fed’s cheer on economy boosts Dow April 28, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday after the Federal Reserve pointed to signs of strength in the economy, comments that gave some relief to investors worried about possible debt defaults in Europe. The Fed’s comments on the economy and its statement that it would keep interest rates low for an extended period lifted bank shares. BKW Bank [...]
The man who thinks MBAs should make ethics centre stage in the boardroom April 28, 2010 AROUND a year ago, in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and in the midst of governments bailouts, a group of Harvard Business School MBA students decided to create an oath that would help to promote more ethical behaviour in business. They were stung by criticism of MBAs, who were blamed by some [...]
In such skilled hands, intrigue in Stalinist Russia cannot fail to grip April 28, 2010 THE BETRAYAL BY HELEN DUNMORE Fig Tree, £18.99 Dunmore is one of the literary establishment’s most respected practitioners: she’s a poet and an Orange Prize short-listed author. Her work isn’t light reading, but fans call it some of the most rewarding on the shelves today. Following on from The Siege (short-listed for the Orange Prize [...]
OUT OF OFFICE April 28, 2010 SAMSONITE POP-UP AT HARRODS Call yourself a travel buff? Like a good suitcase as you swish through the business lounge at Heathrow? Then pop along to Harrods where this massive luggage brand is celebrating its centenary with a showcase of the brand’s evolution, from rare vintage cases, collectors’ items from the 20s and 30s through [...]
SUMMER SIZZLER April 28, 2010 AFTER a winter as long, cold and trying as the one we’ve just experienced, any excuse to wave it goodbye and welcome the arrival of warmer times should be celebrated – and there’s no better way of doing that than hauling the old barbecue out of the garden shed and firing it up. Offering a [...]
Swiss to treat bonuses as a taxable profit April 28, 2010 Switzerland unveiled plans to make bankers’ bonuses less tax-friendly, aiming to appease political parties calling for pay restraint and win backing for a deal ending a US tax case against UBS. The Social Democrats, who could make or break UBS’s US tax deal in a parliamentary vote in June, said the proposed measures, to apply [...]
Solid first quarter boosts private equity hopes April 28, 2010 IT is not all doom and gloom for private equity. That’s how one senior private equity partner described the current outlook to me over breakfast earlier this week. Yet it is an argument that has seemed without foundation during the early part of 2010, which in terms of both the number and value of deals [...]
