BRANSON ON LOOKOUT FOR SPACE RACE BUDDY September 29, 2009 MUCH is resting on tycoon Sir Richard Branson’s hotly-anticipated new venture to infinity and beyond. Virgin Galactic – which plans to fly the first commercial passenger flight into space within the next couple of years – is well underway with planned test flights for its spaceship and carrier aircraft, more than a decade after the [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 29, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed marginally lower yesterday as buoyant financials struggled against disappointing US data, falls from miners and Vodafone. The index closed 5.98 points, or 0.1 per cent, lower at 5,159.72, after a choppy day of trading, having ended Monday’s session 1.6 per cent firmer. Miners were among the biggest laggards, with investors plagued [...]
NEW YORK REPORT September 29, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday as a surprise drop in a gauge of consumer confidence overshadowed signs of stabilisation in housing and solid earnings from Walgreen. Stocks started higher but then turned lower as the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for September fell. Even so, investors were reluctant to sell stocks indiscriminately. Major indexes spent most [...]
Hedge to smooth out the peaks and troughs September 29, 2009 COMPANIES with large foreign currency purchasing exposures are increasingly turning to hedging to protect themselves, using derivative financial instruments such as futures and options. Sterling weakness means currency management has become a necessity for those who buy materials from overseas. Take soft drinks maker AG Barr, for example, which reported strong results on Tuesday. The [...]
GOVERNMENT FUELLING YEN STRENGTH September 29, 2009 AS THE WEEK began, the yen continued its rampage through the currency market, hitting an eight-month high against the dollar on the first trading day of the week. I recently noted that since the greenback has become the prime funding source for the carry trade, the yen is no longer the whipping boy of the [...]
Sterling will remain weak, and that’s a good thing too September 29, 2009 YOU’D need to have been living on a desert island not to have noticed the beating that sterling has taken lately. The pound has lost nearly a quarter of its value in the last two years, but saw the losing streak gather pace in the last week. True to form, that was accompanied by an [...]
Pop Art and poetry in the Supreme Court September 29, 2009 TOMORROW the Supreme Court opens its doors for official business. Earlier this month an outspoken contribution from Lord Neuberger almost eclipsed a rather predictable controversy about the appropriateness of a £59m revamp of its new home in Parliament Square, which included commissioning pop artist Sir Peter Blake to do the carpets (“alarmingly garish”, according to [...]
SPEAKER’S CORNER September 29, 2009 DALE GABBERT PARTNER, REED SMITH FOLLOWING recent controversy surrounding the draft directive for EU hedge fund regulation, some perspective has returned as the Swedes take control of the EU Presidency and attempt to untangle the issues and build some consensus among stakeholders. One of the big areas identified by the Swedes is the need to [...]
Fallout from recession to put lawyers in the dock September 29, 2009 APART form Bernie Madoff, prosecutions in the wake of the financial crisis have been few and far between. Bankers, it seems, are in the clear over their behaviour during the boom. Lawyers, however, might be in the firing line. Last week two lawyers charged with insider trading by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) were committed [...]
Audi’s dream-mobile September 29, 2009 IS it me or have Audi toned down their design approach? They used to love a bit of flared wheel arch where possible, stance and statement arriving hand in hand. Has the recession blunted their flair? I’ve recently spent a week with another of thier cars, the awesome S3, which for me offers one of [...]
