Best of the Brokers October 1, 2012 CAPITAL & COUNTIES Seymour-Pierce has downgraded the developer to “add” from “buy”, maintaining its 233p target. The broker said a recent equity sale provided cash to expand. ELECTRO-COMPONENTS Panmure Gordon cut its recommendation to “sell” from “hold”. Analyst Andy Brown pointed to cut forecasts and a lower seven per cent dividend yield. SINCLAIR IS PHARMA [...]
FTSE rebounds after Xstrata board gives thumbs up to Glencore bid October 1, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 share index rebounded from three-week lows yesterday, bolstered by strong US manufacturing data and prospects of more takeover activity after Xstrata’s board gave long-awaited backing to a bid from Glencore. Adding to the relatively upbeat investor mood on the first day of the new quarter, Spanish bank stress tests late on Friday [...]
Manufacturing data gives Wall Street a boost October 1, 2012 WALL Street started a new quarter with a modest rally yesterday, lifted by a surprising expansion in US manufacturing in September. After rising more than one per cent by midday, the major US stock indexes came off their highs, with the Nasdaq the hardest-hit. Market participants said Wall Street has shown signs of fatigue as [...]
Ed Miliband’s populist policies will make the UK’s bad position worse October 1, 2012 OUR political climate currently mirrors our economic situation – bleak and shockingly uninspiring. At a recent breakfast for business leaders in London, a veteran newspaper journalist spoke of the challenge faced across the West as one of “unpopular governments and unconvincing oppositions”. The polls in Britain bear this out. A ComRes poll for the Independent [...]
It takes more than well-intentioned legislation to truly help the poor October 1, 2012 THE government has just increased the UK’s minimum wage to £6.19 an hour for anyone over 21. Few readers of this newspaper would be able to live on such low wages, especially with the cost of living for essentials going up so much. But this doesn’t mean that increasing the minimum wage further is the [...]
The euro crisis has exposed Europe’s interest rate flaws October 1, 2012 THE Eurozone is currently engulfed in a combined banking and sovereign debt crisis that threatens to unravel the single currency. The good news is that the essential pieces of a lasting solution are well understood: a banking union, recapitalisation of key banks, some debt write-offs and an inevitable transfer of wealth from creditors to debtors. [...]
As Xstrata and Glencore move closer to a merger, is it a good deal for shareholders? October 1, 2012 YES Jeff Largey Commodities remain a growth story, and there is industrial logic behind a merger between the world’s leading commodities trading house and one of the world’s largest mining companies. The deal will create a vertically-integrated mining giant, with industry leading copper volume growth, and the ability to increase margins in Xstrata’s existing operations. [...]
Rapid Responses October 1, 2012 GDP manipulation [Re: Time for MPs to summon statisticians over endless revisions, Friday] This article misses the point. The problem is not with statisticians, but with politicians and the media (and through them, the markets). They all give disproportionate attention to GDP figures which are, inevitably, far from a precise reflection of what is really [...]
Brave traders may fancy a contrarian position on Spain October 1, 2012 THE Ibex 35 has become a whipping boy for traders to take out their Eurozone angst. Since the onset of the financial crisis, over 50 per cent has been wiped off its value. In 2012 alone, the Spanish index has shed 10 per cent. Against a backdrop of a meagre economy, going long on Ibex [...]
Euro-Dollar drama may continue into next year October 1, 2012 FX360 THE final quarter of 2012 is now well underway and, by all accounts, the single currency has been given something of a lift. What is more, this positivity has arrived against the backdrop of mounting belief that a Spanish bailout is now nothing more than a formality. It could be initiated as soon as [...]
