Commodities face a hard landing July 23, 2012 AS THE European economy shows no sign of pulling itself up by its own bootstraps, and with the US hardly faring any better, markets have been heavily dependent on Chinese demand to bolster commodity prices. But the predictions from a Chinese central bank adviser over the weekend did little to give markets confidence that the [...]
FTSE edges down as UK borrowing rises July 20, 2012 Telecoms giant Vodafone pushed the FTSE 100 lower while UK government borrowing came in above estimates this morning. The Office for National Statistics said that public sector net borrowing excluding financial sector interventions rose last month to £14.4bn from £13.9bn in June 2011. On London’s blue chip index Vodafone fell 1.3 per cent after the [...]
London Stock Exchange surges as speculation over merger circulates July 19, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday helped by a bounce in several heavyweight banking stocks. But the London Stock Echange gathered the most attention, with a late surge before the close sparked by speculation of a potential tie-up with its Singaporean counterpart. The talk follows the LSE’s recently announced joint venture with the Singapore [...]
FTSE edges up as UK unemployment falls July 18, 2012 The FTSE 100 tracked gains on Wall Street as investors were given hope that the US Federal Reserve could pump in more monetary stimulus. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver further testimony to the US Congress today, having already indicated that more aid to the economy was possible. Meanwhile UK unemployment dropped by 65,000 in [...]
Robust rise in production for BHP Billiton July 17, 2012 BHP BILLITON, the world’s biggest miner, this morning contrasted with Rio Tinto’s cautious stance by posting a forecast-beating 15 per cent rise in iron ore output in the June quarter from a year ago, adding that expects its iron ore output to rise five per cent in the 2013 financial year. Iron ore production rose [...]
FTSE in modest gains as UK inflation dips July 17, 2012 The FTSE 100 made modest gains in early trading as investors awaited a key report by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke which could open the door to new monetary stimulus measures after recent weak US data. Bernanke will present his latest monetary policy report to Congress today and tomorrow against a background of lacklustre [...]
THE TIPSTER | Mining opportunities for profit July 16, 2012 MINING stocks have seen their fair share of selling this year, but BHP Billiton’s trading update on Wednesday may give the resources giant a chance to shine. Following a decline in its share price of some 10 per cent this year, investors will be hoping for some long-awaited good news. Capital Spreads quotes a price [...]
BEST of the BROKERS July 12, 2012 TESCO Shore Capital has a “hold” rating on the supermarket giant and a target price of 319p. The broker thinks Tesco is making steady progress improving its performance in the UK, but has downgraded full-year earnings forecasts by nine per cent for the firm’s Europe division, 12 per cent for the US and 9.5 per [...]
FTSE sees biggest daily fall in three weeks as fears over economy grow July 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index dropped in weak volume yesterday to post its biggest daily fall in nearly three weeks as growth concerns and fading hopes for near-term US monetary stimulus hit investor sentiment. Minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s June meeting, released overnight, suggested the central bank would be prepared to give stimulus through a [...]
The new A-Class really is all class July 10, 2012 It’s fair to say the A-Class didn’t exactly set the world alight when Mercedes-Benz first launched it back in 1997. It has always seemed like the odd one out in the Mercedes-Benz line up and the poor relation to its larger siblings. Matters weren’t helped by a stuffy image and poor performance compared to its [...]