Sovereign debt hits Wall St sentiment March 24, 2010 AMERICAN stocks fell yesterday as Portugal’s credit rating downgrade and a weak Treasury note auction stirred concerns about sovereign debt. Major indexes eased a day after hitting 18-month highs, with losses across most sectors on light volume. Worries centered on countries’ ability to pay their debt, bolstering the dollar and hurting commodity-related stocks. Portugal’s rating [...]
Caterpillar leads as US stocks move up March 23, 2010 US stocks rallied yesterday, led by the tech, industrial and materials sectors, driving the Dow and the S&P 500 to 18-month highs. Signs of improved demand in the semiconductor industry and a broker’s positive commentary on Caterpillar lifted blue chips, while tech bellwethers Apple and Cisco hit 52-week highs, indicating increased optimism among investors. Kraft, [...]
Giving investment clubs the personal touch March 18, 2010 IN these difficult economic times wealthy individuals have become intensely focused on wealth preservation, circling the wagons to protect what they have while continuing to look for opportunities to create new riches through canny investments. It was somewhat surprising then to find David Giampaolo in ebullient form this week as he prepares for the latest [...]
Dow Jones gets a boost as Boeing shares take off March 18, 2010 THE DOW industrials rose for an eighth consecutive session yesterday, lifted by a rise in Boeing’s stock, while a mixed group of economic figures kept the broader Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 in check. Boeing, up 2.2 per cent at $70.87, gave the Dow its biggest boost. Boeing is the Dow’s best-performing stock so far [...]
Insider deal couple to face criminal trial March 15, 2010 A married couple have been charged with insider dealing as part of the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA’s) clampdown on market abuse just days after the conviction of former Cazenove banker Malcolm Calvert. Former Dresdner Kleinwort investment banker Christian Littlewood and his wife Angie Lew have been charged with 13 counts of insider dealing in a [...]
US-based ICE touted as the Tullett bidder March 10, 2010 AMERICAN exchange operator IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) has been touted as the most likely bidder for Tullett Prebon, the inter-dealer broker headed by Terry Smith, which yesterday confirmed it was in early-stage talks with an unnamed potential buyer. Tullett said it was in preliminary discussions which “may or may not lead to an offer being made for [...]
Nasdaq boosted by rising tech share performance March 8, 2010 TECHNOLOGY shares pushed the Nasdaq higher yesterday on an otherwise flat day for US stocks. Cisco Systems, a Dow component, hit a 21-month high at $26.36 after JPMorgan Chase recommended the stock to investors. Research in Motion gained 5.6 per cent, leading the Nasdaq higher after an analyst’s upgrade. Sentiment also got a lift from [...]
Confidence in retail sector lifts Wall St March 4, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as better-than-expected monthly sales from retailers and a drop in the number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits pointed to stabilisation in the economy. The boost from February retail sales, which were expected to have been hurt by severe weather across the US, lifted retailers’ shares as the S&P retail [...]
IRS seeks back taxes from NYSE March 1, 2010 US authorities are looking to collect back taxes from NYSE Euronext after questioning tax benefits the company received from $161m (£107m) of compensation paid to former chief executive Dick Grasso. Grasso resigned from the parent of the New York Stock Exchange in 2003 amid public outrage over the size of his pay package, which topped [...]
Prudential preparing for £23bn AIG Asian deal February 28, 2010 PRUDENTIAL, the largest insurer in Britain, is on the verge of an audacious takeover of the Asian operations of American International Group valued at around £23bn. The Pru would raise £15bn through a mammoth rights issue to help fund the transaction, which would transform it into the most powerful insurance player in the high-growth Far [...]