Financial institutions and commodities help London’s top stocks to gain ground March 10, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index added 0.7 per cent yesterday, buoyed by strength in commodity issues, supported by trade data from China, and in banks and insurers as Wall Street put in an early advance. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 38.27 points higher at 5,640.57, a 20-month peak, at levels not seen since June [...]
The Tipster March 9, 2010 THE Australian dollar has been subdued, which is surprising since strong business confidence data earlier this week increases the chances of more interest rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Aussie dollar has traded on a weaker note since Monday after reaching AU$0.9150 against the greenback. Its weak performance in recent sessions can [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 8, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES C&W ARM EYES ASIA EXPANSION AFTER LISTING Cable & Wireless’s UK business is stepping up its efforts to achieve growth in emerging markets as it secures a stock market listing later this month. The business, called C&W Worldwide, will focus on opportunities in Asia, Jim Marsh, its chief executive, told the Financial Times [...]
Shell and PetroChina launch £2bn takeover bid for Arrow March 8, 2010 ROYAL Dutch Shell and PetroChina may have to up their bid if they are to secure their takeover of Australian energy company Arrow Energy. Analysts said the joint venture bid valued at A$3bn (£1.8bn) or A$4.45 per share was below the current trading price of A$5.11 a share. Arrow’s shareholders are also unlikely to sell [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TOYODA APOLOGY TOUR IN BEIJING Akio Toyoda, chief executive of Toyota Motor, apologised to Chinese consumers yesterday during a visit to Beijing, as he extended his effort to repair Toyota’s image to the biggest-volume car market in the world. Toyoda flew to China from the US where he had received tough criticism from [...]
Aussie rate hike hangs in the balance February 28, 2010 ONE major central bank will have a difficult decision to make this week but it is not the Bank of England. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) faces a finely balanced decision tomorrow between keeping rates on hold at 3.75 per cent or hiking by 25 basis points. The RBA had surprised markets last month [...]
Toyota chief to woo Chinese February 28, 2010 Toyota Motor’s president Akio Toyoda is set to hold a news conference in Beijing today as the automaker looks to limit the damage from a massive global recall on the fast-growing Chinese market. His aim is to explain to the public about its recent quality issues. The briefing will follow Toyoda’s appearance last week in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 24, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES EMI BANK DEBT BATTLE LEAVES ARTISTS WARY Uncertainty over EMI’s financial future is deterring some leading music industry managers and lawyers from signing artists to its record label as its parent company battles with its bankers over the debt burden of its 2007 buy-out. Terra Firma, the private equity firm run by Guy [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS February 24, 2010 EXCHANGE TRADED CURRENCIES ETF Securities has just launched 10 new currency ETCs which will be listed on the German stock exchange. The new ETCs offer investors long or short exposure to the euro against other G10 currencies, including sterling, the yen, the Swiss franc, the Norwegian krone and the Swedish krona. The sovereign risk problems [...]
THREE EVENTS TO SHAKE UP THE WORLD February 23, 2010 FOLLOWING weeks of turbulence, FX appears to have found temporary support. So this week I want to consider three unlikely, but not improbable, scenarios that could have a radical impact on the markets this year. GREECE IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG The news that Greece used complex swaps to improve its budget finances put [...]