Weak results slow Wall Street October 13, 2011 THE Dow and S&P 500 slipped yesterday after JP Morgan’s earnings and China’s soft trade data revived worries about the impact of slower growth on profits. The declines put an end to three straight days of gains that capped off a 12 per cent increase in the S&P 500 since hitting a low on 4 [...]
Wall Street stays flat ahead of vote October 11, 2011 US stocks were little changed yesterday, with major indices seesawing between gains and losses before a key vote by Slovakia on expanding the Eurozone rescue fund. The back-and-forth moves on Wall Street follow several days of sharp gains. The S&P 500 has risen 8.7 per cent over the past five days, its biggest five-day move [...]
Key week for Burberry amid China worries October 9, 2011 INVESTORS will be eagerly awaiting first half figures from Burberry this Wednesday, as the luxury fashion house seeks to reassure that its expansion remains on track despite uncertainty in key Asian markets. Amid general market turmoil and fears over a slowdown in the Chinese economy, which accounts for 15 per cent of the company’s retail [...]
… but our writer disagrees. Algos mean no harm October 6, 2011 THE avarice and greed of traders leading themselves and others to ruin. The creation of powerful computer-driven algo systems that nobody understands. Another creation by grasping bankers trying to churn and burn viable publicly listed businesses as fast as they can. Whipping up uncontrollable market volatility. Exacerbating terrifying sounding “flash crashes.” All happening in the [...]
Wall Street gains again on tech talk October 5, 2011 US stocks rallied for a second day yesterday, as investors bid up materials and energy shares on rising commodity prices and poured into beaten-down tech names after days of selling. Stocks continued to recover from a decline that briefly took the S&P 500 into bear-market territory. That turned abruptly on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 [...]
Wall St bounces despite volatility October 4, 2011 THE Standard & Poor’s 500 brushed up against a bear market yesterday, but investors rushed in to buy technology and other beaten-down sectors and the index posted its largest gain in more than a week. The broad US market index has fallen nearly 18 per cent in the past four months, hurt by sluggish economic [...]
Wall Street closes up after rocky day September 29, 2011 US stocks mostly rose in a volatile session yesterday as stronger-than-expected economic data and German approval of a beefed-up Eurozone crisis fund relieved two of the worst fears hanging over the market. But the Nasdaq was knocked lower by a brutal sell-off in US-listed Chinese stocks on news of a probe into accounting practices and [...]
Prophets and loss: why forecasts fail September 26, 2011 “IN 1984, the Economist asked sixteen people to make ten-year forecasts of economic growth rates, exchange rates, oil prices, and other staples of economic prognostication. Four of the test subjects were former finance ministers, four were chairmen of multinational companies, four were economics students at Oxford University, and four were London dustmen. A decade later, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 25, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES US TAX AUTHORITIES TARGET BANK DEALS US tax authorities are targeting cross-border finance deals worth billions of dollars between leading US and UK banks as they step up efforts to clamp down on abusive tax avoidance, a joint investigation by the Financial Times and ProPublica has found. Four US banks – BB&T, Bank [...]
Dire day of selling sinks US equities September 22, 2011 US stocks plunged yesterday, extending a selloff to four days, as policymakers’ failure to arrest global economic stagnation sent markets spiraling downward. The heavy volume of last night’s plunge signaled investors are selling in anticipation of more losses. Wall Street’s “fear gauge”, the CBOE Volatility Index, jumped 12 per cent, giving the index its biggest [...]