Ask the experts: what’s to come November 14, 2011 ALPARI JAMES HUGHES Now gold has finished its relentless march higher, traders have almost started to take stock of the wreckage of all other asset classes. It was inevitable after the huge surge in prices that, once the end came, the profit takers would be out in force moving prices significantly lower again. However, while [...]
THE TIPSTER November 14, 2011 THE London Stock Exchange has been finding things tough recently battling against protesters sitting outside its head office and the prospect of a Europe-wide financial transaction tax. On top of this, several failed mergers and takeovers of the exchange have left it in a tricky position when compared to the competition. On Wednesday it releases [...]
Five weird and wonderful things to get trading November 14, 2011 1 The Vix index The Vix, also known as the fear index, allows traders to bet on the expected volatility of the stock market in the next 30 days. Mike van Dulken, the head of research at Accendo Markets, says: “It’s great if you’re long stocks or commodities. It’s a great hedge.” 2 Lumber Trading [...]
Loosen those belts: no diets allowed at City beef-house November 14, 2011 HOW much can one genuflect to the gods of steak? In London these days, the answer is a lot. And when an outlet of Hawksmoor opens up, it’s practically illegal not to sink to one’s knees in praise. And then sink one’s teeth in. You’ve probably already been to Hawksmoor in Spitalfields or Seven Dials. [...]
QUAFFER’S CORNER November 14, 2011 HEAD SOMMELIER AND MANAGER OF LUTYENS RESTAURANT BEING from the New World, I’m accustomed to thinking of grape growing as a specialised activity but, in fact, in parts of Europe it is the norm to grow grapes as part of a pattern of mixed agriculture, combining it with fruit or nut trees, perhaps a cow [...]
FOOD AND BOOZE | AROUND TOWN November 14, 2011 • With cutesy no-reservation restaurants opening by the bucketful in Soho, there’s now a dedicated cocktail lounge for those who want to cut straight to the chase after dinner or a show. Set over two floors, the style is boho chic: velvet sofas and button-back armchairs plus French windows and a long and a long [...]
Italy’s UniCredit to cut 5,000 jobs November 14, 2011 Italian bank UniCredit is to axe 5,000 staff while preparing a 7.5bn euro (£6.4bn) rights issue in an attempt to dig it out of trouble. The bank reported a 10.6bn euro loss in the three months to September, triggered by debt writedowns in the Eurozone. UniCredit holds 38bn euros of Italian government bonds and its [...]
Buffett builds $10bn stake in IBM November 14, 2011 Berkshire Hathaway has accumulated a 5.5 per cent stake in IBM, Warren Buffett said on Monday, his biggest bet on the technology field that he has historically shunned. Buffett, in a CNBC interview, said he bought about 64 million shares of IBM, which cost around $10.7bn (£6.7bn). Berkshire started buying the shares in March with [...]
FTSE falls as Italian bond yields take toll November 14, 2011 European markets were jittery as investors watched a radical overhaul of the political hierarchies in Italy and Greece aimed at ushering in a new economic dawn in the Eurozone. Italy’s president asked former European commissioner Mario Monti on Sunday to form a government, while Greece’s new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, a former central banker who [...]
Mizuho profits fall by a quarter November 14, 2011 Mizuho Financial Group maintained its full-year net profit forecast after reporting that first-half profit fell 25.4 per cent, weighed down by the absence of hefty bond trading gains that lifted its profits the previous year. Japan’s top three banks are announcing their first-half results on Monday, and Mizuho, the second-largest by assets, had been expected [...]
