FX MARKETS ARE POWERED BY BEIJING September 14, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT As I prepare for my “all-things-forex” seminar with Allister Heath on 23 September between 8 and 10am at the Grange Hotel (register at gftuk.com/cityam), I can’t help but marvel at the idea that China is now the primary driver of trade in the FX market. Although its own currency is [...]
Rate rises and risk appetite to boost the krona September 14, 2010 A WESTERN central bank able to raise interest rates without sparking concerns of excess monetary tightening is still something of a rarity. But the Swedish Riksbank has been able to do just that. Earlier this month, it raised rates to 0.75 per cent and signalled that it intended to increase them to 1.75 per cent [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS September 14, 2010 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Stay short cable from $1.55; long euro-dollar above $1.2925 Expertise: Combining fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 day-1 week We have seen lots of volatility this past week; but a clear direction on underlying trends is still eluding us. Short-term setups are what I’m looking [...]
Why regulations are never a panacea September 13, 2010 ONE of the biggest problems with the financial system in the run-up to the financial crisis was insufficient liquidity, as well as insufficient capital. The difference between the two is crucially important: one might have plenty of capital reserves, but if these cannot be accessed then a crisis remains guaranteed (unless the central bank steps [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 13, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES CALLS FOR RYANAIR TO AXE BOSS Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary has for years endured complaints from passengers about his famously no-frills Irish airline. Now a senior Ryanair pilot has taken the rare step of publicly challenging his boss after the outspoken chief executive said he was trying to convince authorities to let his aircraft [...]
Chinese stake purchase boosts WPP’s expansion September 13, 2010 Advertising giant WPP yesterday announced that it has taken a majority stake in Chinese retail marketing consultancy DPI through one of its wholly owned subsidiary companies in the region G2. The company refused to say how much it was paying for the stake, but the move continues its investment in China which is currently WPP’s [...]
Kraft in push to raise choc sales in China September 13, 2010 KRAFT Foods is aiming to double the number of Chinese cities in which it sells Cadbury chocolate within the next two years. This would mean the number of cities in China in which Cadbury products are sold will rise to about 40. The US food group would use its vast distribution network to achieve its [...]
China now a bigger player on financial stage September 12, 2010 China’s rapid ascent to become the world’s second largest economy provided confirmation – if any was needed – that the country is a key player on the global financial stage. And with China forecast to grow at around 10 per cent this year – down from recent pre-crisis highs but still far in advance of [...]
Record for foreigners in UK shopping bonanza September 6, 2010 LAST month was the busiest on record for international shoppers hitting UK stores, a new survey showed today. Sales were up 18 per cent with shoppers from China, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia leading the boom. The hike came despite Middle Eastern shoppers heading home for religious festival Ramadan during the month. The growth in Chinese [...]
DON’T BANK ON FURTHER S&P RALLIES September 6, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT SEPTEMBER kicked off with impressive rallies on global equities. It was certainly a “risk on” start to the month and echoed the market moves that we saw back at the beginning of August. In fact, the S&P has already made back all its August losses and more. But last month’s initial [...]