FTSE breaks four-day losing streak on hopes of Chinese fiscal stimulus September 3, 2012 UK blue chips broke a four-day losing streak in thin volume yesterday as mining stocks rallied on speculation about new economic stimulus from the world’s top metals consumer, China. Mining shares rose 1.3 per cent after weak manufacturing data from China raised expectations that Beijing would launch new monetary stimulus measures to revive its economy. [...]
Analyst picks for 3 September 2012 September 3, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie-dollar Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few days We remain short on the burdened Australian dollar, which is set to see a wave of disappointing data over the coming days. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meets today, [...]
Worried China could buy more Eurozone debt August 30, 2012 CHINESE Premier Wen Jiabao welcomed yesterday’s visit by German chancellor Angela Merkel by saying he was prepared to do more to help the Eurozone, yet admitted that Europe’s woes remain a headache for much of the global economy. And even China’s comparatively strong position took a knock when Moody’s sent out a warning over the [...]
Smashing Windows Phones August 29, 2012 AS THE dust settles following the explosive legal case between Apple and Samsung, in which the Korean firm was ordered to pay a minimum of $1bn for patent infringement, an unlikely third party is emerging as one of the potential winners. Microsoft has invested billions in its Windows Phone software, to some critical acclaim, but [...]
BP turns to Australia for cash with £327m Kangaroo issue August 29, 2012 BRITISH oil behemoth BP yesterday announced plans to sell Australian dollar bonds in a rare kangaroo issue. Kangaroo bonds are Australian dollar bonds sold by international issuers. The bond marks the first time that BP has tapped the Australian market for funding. The five-year issue was priced at A$500m (£327m) yesterday, with a coupon of [...]
Trading light in US as investors wait on the Fed August 28, 2012 US stocks ended little changed in another day of scarce activity yesterday after mixed economic data gave investors little reason to shift their focus from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech on Friday. The Fed chief is scheduled to address a conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and could announce new measures to [...]
The glistening appeal of precious metals returns August 27, 2012 SENIOR MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT UP UNTIL last week, gold and silver – like a Parisian in August – appeared to have shut up shop for the summer. In contrast, equity markets had pushed higher in a low volume melt-up that brought the Dow and S&P 500 up to levels last seen in December 2007. Even [...]
More easing seen as China factory survey disappoints August 23, 2012 China’s manufacturing sector contracted at its sharpest pace in nine months in August, according to a survey showing falling export orders and rising inventories, a signal that more policy stimulus may be needed to engineer a second half pick-up in growth. As calls grew louder from analysts and investors for further measures from Beijing to [...]
China and Us data fail to corrode Qe speculation August 20, 2012 FX360 THE Dow and S&P 500 are both within spitting distance of the highs achieved earlier this year. It will only take a small push for both indices to surmount these heights. After that hurdle, the bulls will have their sights on the pre-financial crisis levels of 2007 – around 14,200 and 1,575 for the [...]
Analyst picks for 20 August 2012 August 20, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie-dollar and Aussie-Kiwi, buy dollar-yen dips Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few days I took profits on my core Aussie dollar-dollar short from $1.0585 last week, and the pair was reshorted at $1.0450 as it appears a top [...]