Swissie will not replace yen for carry traders September 8, 2009 COMPARED to the sharp and unexpected moves that they have previously seen, spot currency markets have been exceptionally dull of late and many major currency pairs remain range-bound with little sign of any breakout move. Unable to rely on big daily moves in currency pairs for their profits, forex traders have returned to the popular [...]
CURRENCIES ARE NOW AT CRITICAL CROSSROADS September 8, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT AS THE trading world returns from the holidays, capital markets find themselves at a critical juncture. The key question facing participants in the currency and equity markets is whether the economic recovery will continue into the year-end. Traders want to know if this is a sucker rally or just [...]
HSBC and Barclays popular for standing alone September 8, 2009 AYEAR ago this week we experienced “The End of the World as We Know It” as investment bank Lehman collapsed, amid fears of the whole financial system going into meltdown. In the subsequent months I took part in many gloomy debates about whether everything had changed forever, or whether it was just a larger-scale event [...]
Defence and security expo draws rebels September 8, 2009 ANTI-WAR protests hit the capital yesterday, as the world’s largest fully integrated defence and security exhibition got underway. Controversy has hit the event particularly hard this year, as it sees the largest contingent of Libyan arms dealers ever to visit the UK. The show comes soon after the release of the Lockerbie bomber, which sparked [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 8, 2009 MARKS & SPENCERAfter reviewing the autumn merchandise and its own forecasts, Investec raised its full-year 2010 pre-tax profit estimate for Marks & Spencer to £530m, from £475m, based on stronger gross margin progress than in previous guidance. However, the broker believes that some of the margin recovery booked in 2009/10 will make 2010/11 progress harder, [...]
DSG hires ex-Majestic Wine boss September 8, 2009 DSG International, which owns the Currys and PC World chains, has drafted in former Majestic Wine boss Tim How as a non-executive director to help it get back on track. How previously led a management buyout of the wine warehouse chain in 1989, taking it through an Aim flotation in 1996 until he eventually left [...]
Redstone cuts earnings forecasts September 8, 2009 IT and communications firm Redstone yesterday cut its earnings forecasts for the year as it admitted talks with Eckoh Technologies regarding a loan facility had not yet been successful. The firm now expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of between £5m and £6m, well below its previous forecast of £7.5m-£8m. Redstone, which [...]
STM profits take a battering September 8, 2009 Cross-border financial services provider STM Group yesterday said its first-half profits had almost been wiped out by underperformance at its Jersey office and insurance division. STM saw its interim pre-tax profit fall to £0.18m from £1.43m a year ago, causing broker Evolution Securities to cut its rating on the stock from “buy” to “neutral”. But [...]
SACCapital rehires staff it dismissed in January as it revitalises London arm September 8, 2009 SAC Capital, the hedge fund firm founded by New York billionaire Steven Cohen, is understood to have hired back two London traders it had previously dismissed. The group has welcomed back David Morant and Ben Halfacre this week, nine months after they were let go as the group slimmed down amid precipitous losses for the [...]
Plus Markets dangles a carrot for market makers September 8, 2009 INDEPENDENT stock exchange Plus Markets yesterday announced that it will launch a liquidity scheme as it attempts to attract more equity trading onto its platform. Plus, which has recently gained approval to trade Aim-listed securities, said that the Plus Liquidity Scheme will encourage market makers to direct their reported flow to the exchange by enabling [...]
