FTSE ends day flat on debt jitters as Vodafone rises and travel groups fall May 17, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares ended flat yesterday as jitters over Europe’s debt eroded early gains, with miners weak on demand concerns and travel firms hit by the Icelandic ash cloud. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.3 points at 5,262.54 after it fell 3.1 per cent on Friday, punished by anxiety over the euro zone debt crisis. [...]
BP May 16, 2010 IT doesn’t rain it pours. Or in the case of BP, it spills. The situation facing the oil major goes from bad to worse. Chief executive Tony Hayward, initially credited with changing the firm’s reputation in the wake of the Texas oil refinery explosion, limps from one public relations disaster to the next. Analysts from [...]
Don’t forget about volatile silver: it is a decent alternative to gold May 16, 2010 AS ONE might have expected, renewed risk aversion and fears about sovereign debt have sent the price of gold sky high. The precious metal hit a record high last week of $1,242.70 as investors scrambled for perceived safe havens. But with all the attention lavished on gold, the recent strength of silver has gone remarkably [...]
THE TIPSTER May 16, 2010 SHARES in Tullett Prebon plunged 12 per cent last Thursday following the announcement that the discussions with a third party about a possible takeover had been terminated. The shares have fallen well below their 200, 100 and 50-day moving averages and currently trade just above their Fibonacci support, around 306p. A break through 300p could [...]
Portugal joins Eurozone’s push into era of austerity May 13, 2010 PORTUGUESE leaders agreed tough new austerity measures yesterday, joining a coordinated Eurozone push that has so far calmed the markets’ worst fears of a Greek-style debt crisis spreading. Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates and opposition leader Pedro Passos Coelho drew up steps to reduce the budget deficit by about €2bn (£1.4bn), half from spending cuts [...]
BUSINESS GRANDEES RUB SHOULDERS WITH CELEBS AT ARK EXTRAVAGANZA May 13, 2010 HEDGE fund millionaires, business hotshots and celebrities alike flocked in their droves last night to the financial world’s most extravagant charity bash of the year – Arpad Busson’s annual ARK gala dinner. Busson himself is renowned in equal part for his stewardship of the EIM hedge fund, his phenomenal philanthropic efforts at the helm of [...]
Government may spilt up large banks May 12, 2010 BANKS may be forced to split their retail and trading operations in a bid by the new coalition government to water down risk in the City. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats yesterday announced a one-year inquiry into the sector that could see the so-called “Volcker rule” imposed on the UK’s institutions. The rule, named after [...]
FTSE falls on uncertainty over Greek debt, government and Chinese inflation May 11, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday as concerns over the Eurozone’s rescue package, monetary tightening in China and political uncertainty in the UK hit investor sentiment. The FTSE 100 index closed down 53.21 points, or 1 per cent, at 5,334.21, having gained 5.2 per cent on Monday after an emergency rescue package from the European [...]
Young entrepreneurs are hope for the future May 10, 2010 LAST Friday night, I spent the evening in Hatfield House – one of my favourite UK historical sites as Queen Elizabeth I is my hero – with the top entrepreneurs of the University of Hertfordshire, which was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education “Entrepreneurial University of 2009” award. The university, whose chancellor is the Tory [...]
Banks boost FTSE after Euro bailout May 10, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index scored its biggest one-day per cent rise in nearly 18 months yesterday as the $1 trillion (£645bn) Eurozone rescue package doused concerns of EU debt defaults and further economic dislocation. Bank stocks, which plunged last week on their exposure to debts of Greece and other EU states, led the advance as [...]