Global shares gain ahead of data August 14, 2012 Asian shares rose today as investors hunted for bargains while waiting for more economic figures from Europe and the United States later in the day, after recent data showed the Eurozone’s debt woes were eroding business activity globally. Relative optimism persisted to underpin investor sentiment as deteriorating global growth prospects will keep expectations firmly in [...]
Analyst picks for 13 August 2012 August 13, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie-dollar and Aussie-Kiwi dollar, long dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few days Shorts were added to my existing Aussie dollar-dollar position, raising the average to $1.0585. The commodity currencies (the Australian, Canadian and New Zealand dollars) appear [...]
Eerie calm on Wall Street as equities stall August 9, 2012 THE Standard & Poor’s 500 extended its rally to a fifth day yesterday, again eking out a tiny gain as lingering expectations for economic stimulus from central banks lent support to a market lacking new catalysts. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 10.45 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 13,165.19 at the close. But the [...]
Trader Glencore strikes Bellzone iron ore deal August 9, 2012 Glencore has struck a deal to buy at least half of the output from Guinea’s Forecariah iron ore mine as part of the commodities trader’s drive to grab a bigger share of the lucrative market for the steelmaking ingredient. The world’s largest diversified commodities trader said today it had reached a deal with Bellzone Mining [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Square ties-up deal with Starbucks Square, the mobile payments start-up created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, yesterday took a big step towards the mainstream when Starbucks announced it would use its smartphone technology to replace transaction systems in its US coffee shops. Under the deal, Square will process all Starbucks transactions done with [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | HOW DID RIO TINTO DO AGAINST ANALYSTS’ EXPECTATIONS? August 8, 2012 JONATHAN JACKSON KILLIK & CO The shares have been weak and volatile performers this year, driven by near-term risks surrounding the outlook for global growth and higher industry costs. However, we are positive on the stock, and believe it is a highly liquid way to gain exposure to long-term emerging market growth. CAILEY BARKER NUMIS [...]
Rio Tinto sticks to spending plans despite profit drop August 8, 2012 Global miner Rio Tinto posted a 34 per cent drop in first-half profit, at the better end of expectations, weighed down by weaker iron ore prices, but said it was sticking to its $16bn (£10.2bn) spending plans for the year. Rio, the world’s second-largest iron ore producer, said underlying earnings fell to $5.2bn, at the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 7, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Tea market strained as output falls The price of tea has jumped to a 2½-year high as poor crops in some of the world’s most important producers strain supplies. Dry conditions, poor rains and frosts have hit tea production in Kenya, the largest exporter of black tea. A bad monsoon has reduced production [...]
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR August 7, 2012 OUR final shortlist for the third annual City A.M. awards is a big one – the Business of the Year. For this category we have looked for strong share price performance aligned to important strategic developments. We have chosen four established companies, along with one rising star in Ophir Energy. Ophir has been one of [...]
Best Buy mulls founder’s offer to take it over August 6, 2012 AMERICAN electronics retailer Best Buy may be taken private after founder and former chairman Richard Schulze made an offer to the company’s board valuing it at up to $9bn (£5.8bn) yesterday. Schulze’s offer to buy the 80 per cent of Best Buy he does not already own sent shares in the retailer up 17 per [...]