Look to the stock markets for direction on the oil price May 17, 2010 THE sense of crisis stalking Eurozone economies has coincided with a steep drop in the oil price. It has fallen 17 per cent in the last fortnight and the benchmark Nymex oil price is currently trading at close to $71.85 per barrel. But, even after this drop in price, some oil analysts are standing by [...]
EUROPEAN TROUBLES HURT ASIA May 17, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT THE European bailout package stunned traders and investors alike. Initially, hopes were high that it would help shore-up confidence. But looking at the markets’ reaction to last weekend’s announcement, European leaders must be extremely concerned by the results so far. Over the course of the week, European stock indices managed to [...]
Pru gets the all-clear for its cash call May 16, 2010 PRUDENTIAL received clearance from the Financial Services Authority for its mammoth rights issue over the weekend and could launch the deal as early as this morning. The prospectus for the $21bn (£14bn) cash call, which was delayed after the regulator raised fears over Prudential’s capital position, is likely to price the rights at the lower end [...]
Battle for Wall St reaches final stage May 16, 2010 WAHT is being billed by proponents as the biggest shake-up of Wall Street since the great depression could go through the senate this week as politicians desperately haggle over the future of the US financial system. A series of new measures promise to reform many Wall Street practices. Proposals for the new bill include: • Setting [...]
How Herbert Smith’s new boss will take on the big boys of global law May 16, 2010 THIS WEEK Jonathan Scott takes up his five-year post as senior partner for venerable City law firm Herbert Smith, and many observers bet that somewhere on the desk of his fourth floor office at the practice’s Primrose Street headquarters there is an A4 sheet of paper with just two words on it – overseas expansion. [...]
Asian indices will not move at the same pace May 10, 2010 ASIAN indices have not been immune to the Greek crisis and the wave of risk aversion that has been sweeping across the world, despite traders’ relatively bullish attitude towards the region. Major stock indices have all suffered: the Chinese Hang Seng H-Shares index has dropped 10 per cent since the middle of April, while the [...]
The Tipster May 4, 2010 ALTHOUGH the situation in Greece has put enormous pressure on the euro, the Swiss franc has held remarkably firm above the SFr1.4320 level over the past month when you might have expected euro-Swiss franc to fall even further. The Swiss National Bank has been supporting the franc at around SFr1.4325 in a bid to prevent [...]
China’s banks hit as reserve ratio is hiked May 3, 2010 CHINESE shares yesterday dipped on global markets after the country upped the proportion of deposits lenders must keep in reserve at the central bank, in a move to rein in inflation and mop up excess liquidity. China yesterday said it would lift lenders’ reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points from 10 May, the third [...]
Honda drives into profit as market picks up April 28, 2010 CARMAKER Honda has reported a profit for the first three months of 2010. The Japanese company said it made a net profit of 72bn yen (£507m) between January and March, with sales rising by 28 per cent. A recovery in the major US and Japanese car markets helped Honda, as well as expansion in developing [...]
Bubble fears overdone in emerging markets April 27, 2010 IN SPITE of emerging markets’ strong rebound from the financial crisis and their rosy growth prospects, 41 per cent of European pension plans still have no exposure at all to this sector, according to an annual asset allocation report released earlier this month by Mercer, a consultancy. But this is changing in the wake of [...]