Wall Street rises on earnings relief January 10, 2012 STOCKS climbed to a five-month high yesterday, led by materials companies after an upbeat forecast by aluminum company Alcoa and strong gains in bank shares. Alcoa posted revenue that topped expectations late Monday and gave a bullish outlook for the aluminium industry. The stock gave up early gains to end at $9.44, up 1 cent. [...]
A slippery time ahead for oil prices January 9, 2012 CONTINUED geopolitical issues in Iran and its stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up oil prices over fears of a threat to supply, but will global economic weakness be enough to take the edge off these rises in the long term? SHORT TERM FEARS “Crude traders were of course spooked by the escalating [...]
Art market is a real winner January 8, 2012 THE art market proved beautiful for investors last year, with a 10.2 per cent growth in prices shown by the Mei Moses World All Art Index. The index, which measures returns on art mainly by tracking repeat sale prices in New York and London, was boosted by growing Chinese demand and estimate-beating auctions. They included [...]
Chinese dragons fly into the UK’s mobile warzone January 8, 2012 ASK someone to name the first smartphone that comes into their head and most people will say “iPhone”. Some might name a Samsung or even an HTC. Not many will mention Huawei or ZTE. But 2012 could be the year of the dragon, with the Chinese giants preparing to blitz the UK with a massive [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 5, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES NEW CLASHES BREW OVER TOBIN TAX Britain and France are set for another European clash as Paris attempts to frame a new Eurozone financial transaction tax in a way that is likely to have a significant impact on the City of London. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France wants to include the so-called Tobin [...]
Britain needs to take Chinese lessons January 3, 2012 IT is quite fashionable to be bearish on China these days. Few think the Asian superpower will be able to brush off the Eurozone woes, inflation is sky high and its housing market bubble is about to go pop. I’ve noticed a certain smugness in those who predict pain for the Chinese, as though it [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 3, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES MINISTER ATTACKS GREEN LOBBY The climate change minister has rounded on the “environmental Taliban” of green campaigners, insisting they are wrong to accuse the government of abandoning its commitment to a low carbon agenda. Greg Barker said: “There is nothing environmental about exporting manufacturing jobs abroad.” Barker has led the contentious efforts to [...]
Debt markets falter in second half of 2011 January 3, 2012 DEBT issuance by companies dropped dramatically in the second half of 2011 as the worsening economic climate and Eurozone crisis weighed on the debt market, new data from Dealogic yesterday showed. Companies issued $5.76 trillion (£3.71 trillion) of bonds in 2011, down six per cent from 2010’s level, with 60 per cent issued in the [...]
BENTLEY REVS UP AS CHINESE MARKET GROWS January 3, 2012 VOLKSWAGEN’S extravagant Bentley brand has jumped back to pre-recession levels of demand after it saw a 37 per cent rise in sales for 2011, strengthened by booming sales in China. The US is still Bentley’s number one market, with sales up by over a third to 2,021 cars – an increase of 32 per cent. [...]
Manufacturing data sparks FTSE’s racing start to 2012 January 3, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares powered ahead at the start of the new trading year yesterday as upbeat economic data from the United States, Europe and China boosted risk appetite and helped investors set aside fears over the Eurozone debt crisis. The pace of growth in the US manufacturing sector accelerated in December, its best month since [...]