Libor needs swift modernisation to recapture trust July 2, 2012 WE SHOULD be under no illusion about how catastrophic the failure of the Libor rate setting mechanisms has been. There has been widespread manipulation of the most important price of risk. And we don’t need reminding how important the price mechanism is for the allocation of everything from goods to services, and of course capital. [...]
Would a vote for Scottish independence in its referendum be boon for its businesses? July 2, 2012 YES Stewart Hosie Scotland is a country rich in opportunity and bursting with innovation, but sadly this does not translate often enough into greater commercial opportunities. Independence will provide us with new tools – tax credits for example – to deliver a step-change in Scotland’s research and devlopment. Independence provides greater scope to shape the [...]
RAPID RESPONSES July 2, 2012 Winners and losers [Barclays chair was right to resign over scandal, yesterday] Bob Diamond should be applauded for having led and very successfully grown Barclays’ investment banking operations into a global titan. But an operation or organisation typically reflects the standards and behaviours of its leaders, especially if the leader has a strong personality. Philip [...]
Barclays stabilises as value investors return July 2, 2012 AS Barclays’ shares bounced back yesterday, this served as an important reminder to retail traders that the markets are not rational and it is easy to get your fingers burned. Anybody set up to take a short position on the FTSE open would have been hurt as the bank went on to be one of [...]
ECB MANOEUVRES HAVE NOT CHANGED THE EU DYNAMICS July 2, 2012 FX360 FRIDAY’S trading brought the first half of the year to an extraordinary conclusion. Risk assets soared, as investors responded to news from the EU summit. Expectations for a positive outcome from the meeting were low to non-existent. Yet, despite the well-publicised objections by Germany in the lead-up, European leaders cobbled together an agreement to [...]
THE TIPSTER | Hoping for a high-flying statement July 2, 2012 BUDGET airline Easyjet will be hoping that the Eurozone crisis is not going to put off people from travelling this summer, as it issues its a trading statement on Thursday. Its share price has done its own share of high flying, putting on over 30 per cent in 2012. With the far from clement conditions [...]
Doing the UK supermarket sweep July 2, 2012 THE jubilant spending during the Queen’s diamond jubilee may have given the high streets a boost, and inflation is being slowly reined in, but UK supermarkets are still facing a difficult year ahead. According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee boosted retail sales in June, but shop sales were down [...]
Analyst picks for 2 July 2012 July 2, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie dollar-dollar and Aussie dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week Technical divergences are building and it appears we have completed five waves up in the Aussie dollar-yen and Aussie dollar-dollar, the FX market’s barometer of risk-appetite. As such, [...]
North Road is a Scandinavian joy July 2, 2012 RESTAURANT NORTH ROAD 69-73 St John St, EC1M 4AN Tel: 020 3217 0033 FOOD **** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost per person without wine: £75 Scandinavia is having quite a moment. We watch its TV shows, we wear its jumpers, we buy its furniture (while hoping people won’t notice it came flat-packed in a cardboard [...]
Roast still does British cuisine (pretty) well July 2, 2012 RESTAURANT ROAST The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, SE1 1TL Tel: 0845 034 7300 FOOD *** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £45 Roast has been around for six years. There was a time when it was one of the foodiest restaurants in London, by which I mean the sort of place those [...]
