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 [...]
Analyst picks for 24 July 2012 July 23, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short Aussie dollar-dollar, long dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few days Our initial Aussie dollar-dollar short from $1.0265 was stopped out at break-even, but a new position was initiated on Thursday at $1.0425, seeking levels below $1.0200. The [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Four banks targeted in Euribor probe Regulators are focusing on at least four of Europe’s biggest banks as they investigate the attempted manipulation of the region’s benchmark interest rate, suspecting the Barclays traders were the ringleaders of a circle that included Credit Agricole, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale. Evidence of links between [...]
Goldman promises to cut costs to shore up profits July 17, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs’ profits fell in the second quarter as the Eurozone crisis continued to drain confidence from the market and the bank lost money on an investment in a leading Chinese bank. But the earnings figures were better than analysts expected because of a major cost-cutting programme and a large share buyback. Revenues fell nine [...]
Christie’s sets record with booming sales July 17, 2012 CHRISTIE’S announced record first-half art sales of £2.2bn yesterday, a rise of 13 per cent over the same period of 2011 and further evidence of strength at the high end of the market. The world’s largest auctioneer reported auction sales of £1.8bn in the first six months of 2012, seven per cent up on a [...]
Rio Tinto sees flat iron output as China drags July 17, 2012 RIO TINTO yesterday reported flat iron ore production in the second quarter compared with the same period last year. Sales fell slightly short of output, putting pressure on its shares and heightening concerns about cooling Chinese demand. Rio Tinto’s iron ore production was steady at 48.6m tonnes in the June quarter, compared with 48.9m tonnes [...]
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 [...]
After China’s growth slowed to 7.6 per cent last quarter, should we remain optimistic? July 15, 2012 YES Duncan Innes-Ker China’s economy slowed in the last six months but, in contrast to the downturn of 2008, the local jobs market has held up well. It’s hard to be that worried about a country in which the average city-dweller saw their income rise 13.3 per cent between the first half of this year [...]
Big companies shy away from London floats July 12, 2012 LONDON’S Alternative Investment Market (Aim) was the venue for the vast majority of UK initial public offerings in the last three months while the main market remained in the doldrums, according to figures from Ernst & Young out yesterday. Aim hosted 11 listings in the second quarter, compared to just one IPO on the London [...]
Hawker confirms $1.8bn sale talks with Chinese aero firm July 10, 2012 BANKRUPT aircraft maker Hawker Beechcraft confirmed yesterday it was in exclusive talks with a Chinese aerospace firm over a sale of the company for $1.79bn (£1.15bn), an offer that may flush out higher bids from other parties. Chinese companies have announced a flurry of international takeovers this year, part of a decade-old “going out” policy [...]