Bulls and bears clash over copper price: Buying opportunity or time to short? The outlook for the industrial metal August 11, 2015 Copper prices are at five-year lows and experts are divided over whether the industrial metal has further to fall – or is due for a rebound. In the last week traders have been going short copper in droves – betting the price will fall and making money when it does. US traders held net short [...]
FTSE finishes up after China data boosts miners – London Report August 11, 2015 MAJOR mining stocks experienced a sharp reversal yesterday, turning higher on hopes of stimulus after weak data in China, which led the UK’s top share index to recoup early losses. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 17.73 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 6,736.22 points by the close, turning higher after gains in early [...]
Buffett sparks optimism with latest purchase – New York Report August 10, 2015 OPTIMISM over Warren Buffett’s latest deal and gains in commodity-related shares helped to buoy US stocks yesterday, giving the S&P 500 its biggest gain since May. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 241.79 points, or 1.39 per cent, to 17,615.17, the S&P 500 gained 26.61 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 2,104.18 and the Nasdaq [...]
Super Thursday: Five key takes from the Bank of England’s inflation report August 6, 2015 The Bank of England's first data dump landed with a thud today after both the minutes from its monthly interest rate meeting and its inflation report struck an unexpectedly dovish tone. Analysts had been expecting at least two members of the nine-strong monetary policy committee to vote for an interest rate rise for the first [...]
London Stock Exchange Group profit soars on integration of Russell Investments August 5, 2015 Shares rose 2.44 per cent after the group's first half earnings were boosted by its recently acquired global indexes business FTSE-Russell. The figures The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) said pre-tax profit in the six months ending 30 June rose 20 per cent to £205.2m, mainly due to strong growth in its global indexes business FTSE-Russell. [...]
Standard Chartered share price rises as investors warm to Winters August 5, 2015 Shares in Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered were up more than four per cent at 992p in lunchtime trade as new chief exec Bill Winters won over investors. The figures This came despite first half results showing adjusted pre-tax profit slumped 44 per cent to $1.82bn (£1.17bn) in the six months to the end of June. The bank also cut its dividend [...]
Chinese tourists help Hugo boss the market August 5, 2015 German fashion house Hugo Boss said Chinese tourists flocking to Europe helped sales rise more than expected in the second quarter. Sales rose 16 per cent to €647m (£454m), ahead of average analyst forecasts, while net profit rose 13 per cent to €71m.
Is China fragile? It could well surprise us – CNBC Comment August 4, 2015 WITH earnings season in full swing, China remains the buzzword – but for all the wrong reasons. As analysts who have questioned the strength of the world’s second-largest economy start to look a lot less like Cassandras, the question remains: when will the Asian powerhouse stabilise? Short answer: it’s tough to tell at this stage. [...]
Commodities in freefall as China faces slowdown August 4, 2015 Mining stocks were dealt a body blow yesterday, with one index dropping to a 13-year low, as Chinese manufacturing PMI data dragged the commodities market down yet again. The data, which came out yesterday morning, showed that the downturn in China’s manufacturing sector intensified at the start of the third quarter. Production was cut at [...]
All eyes are on the Canadian dollar in a data rich week – eToro tips & picks August 3, 2015 Many currencies have been struggling for direction of late, and the euro in particular has generated a news-flow fatigue. Currency markets have been tricky to judge over the last few weeks, and it doesn’t look like that is about to change any time soon. Euro-dollar has been struggling to jump any higher than $1.1150 and, [...]