Best of the Brokers September 10, 2012 PREMIER OIL Liberum Capital rates the FTSE 250 firm as “sell” from a previous “hold” rating, saying “performance has to improve if this is to add significant value” and saying the firm’s explorations will not reap rewards for several years. Liberum’s Andrew Whitlock adds that performance will suffer in the medium term due to a [...]
FTSE dwindles as defensive stocks drop ahead of Fed and euro news September 10, 2012 BRITISH blue chip shares dipped yesterday as weakness in defensive stocks outweighed strength in risk-sensitive cyclicals, such as miners, and investors positioned for more newsflow out of Europe and the United States. The FTSE 100 closed down 1.60 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 5,793.20, with the index yo-yoing in a tight range around the [...]
Markets dip on Wall Street as tech stock falls September 10, 2012 WALL Street stocks fell yesterday as investors locked in gains on a recent rally ahead of possible policy action from the Federal Reserve later this week, while weakness in Intel shares weighed on the Nasdaq. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed at highs last week not seen in nearly five years, motivating some investors to [...]
The success of Scandinavia owes nothing to high taxes or welfare September 10, 2012 SCANDINAVIAN nations are often regarded as role models. Egalitarian Richard Wilkinson once said that, if you want to live the American dream, you should live in Denmark. Sweden often gets envious glances from social democrats in the Anglophone world. Scandinavian societies are characterised by high living standards, high life expectancy, low crime rates, high social [...]
Banking regulations can be costly: Sometimes it pays to be loyal and lazy September 10, 2012 THE public are unhappy with banks. And some people are exercising their right to switch their accounts. This is a key part of capitalism and something that should be welcomed. After all, the threat of exit is one of the most important ways to ensure customer satisfaction. But there is a problem when people go [...]
Ignite the spirit of the Games Makers in our employees September 10, 2012 FAREWELL then, to the undisputed stars of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games – the Games Makers will be missed. Overnight, London became a friendlier place. Anyone who was helped by them, or who heard the prolonged applause for them at the closing ceremonies, will know they rose to the occasion brilliantly and contributed [...]
Is the government doing enough to remove the burden of regulation on UK businesses? September 10, 2012 YES Priti Patel The government is already using its Red Tape Challenge to identify burdens that need amending or scrapping. Business should be confident that, before the next election, thousands of regulations will be scrapped or amended. The appointment of Michael Fallon to the Department for Business is a positive step. He will help to [...]
Rapid Responses September 10, 2012 Taxing wealth fails [Re: These politicians are wrong. A tax on wealth would be bad for Britain, yesterday] It’s interesting that Andrew Sentance’s article makes the same point as the one by Andrew Haldenby, but from a different angle. The truth they both reveal is that low tax economies have faster growth, greater productivity gains, [...]
Stakes raised ahead of crunch day for Europe September 10, 2012 THE Eurozone waits with bated breath as its fate is, once again, in the hands of its divided politicians. After Mario Draghi, European Central Bank (ECB) president, last week announced Outright Monetary Transactions (or OMT) – another acronym to add to the burgeoning Eurozone lexicon – traders were elated, sending shares in European stocks to [...]
US data points to a burst of QE from Ben Bernanke September 10, 2012 FX360 GLOBAL equities rallied sharply last week, with most of the gains coming after the European Central Bank (ECB) president, Mario Draghi, spoke on Thursday. There was nothing in Draghi’s statement that had not been telegraphed to the markets in advance. Nevertheless, investors piled into “risk assets” as the ECB president backed-up his earlier promise [...]
