US stocks fall as oil prices hit energy shares September 18, 2012 US stocks fell yesterday in light trading after a rally that drove the S&P 500 last week to its highest level in nearly five years and as falling oil prices hit energy shares. The decline broke a four-day streak of gains for the S&P 500. On Friday, both the Dow and the S&P 500 ended [...]
Russian central bank to sell off Sberbank stake September 18, 2012 A MAJOR stake in Russia’s largest bank will go on sale this week, it was announced yesterday, as the country’s central bank takes advantage of positive market sentiment. The 7.6 per cent stake of Sberbank is expected to bring in roughly $5bn (£3.1bn) for the Russian state, with 85 to 90 per cent of the [...]
JP Morgan warns QE3 could hit, not help, the US economy September 18, 2012 INTEREST rates could rise rather than fall as a result of the latest round of money printing announced by the Federal Reserve last week, analysts at JP Morgan warned yesterday. The potentially unlimited asset purchases under the latest quantitative easing programme (QE3) could increase inflation, pushing up yields and so hurt the economy rather than [...]
FTSE retreats from half-year highs reached after Federal Reserve fillip September 17, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 retreated from half-year highs yesterday, in what strategists said was likely to be a profit-taking pause in a threemonth- long rally stimulated by global central banks. The benchmark share index has risen some 12 per cent since the start of June, propelled by expectations of central bank action that took effect in [...]
Learning how to live with open-ended QE September 17, 2012 FEDERAL Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke last week did what the markets had been waiting for. He announced that the US central bank would be rolling out another round of its controversial quantitative easing program (QE3). The Fed will commit to monthly asset purchases of $40bn (£ 24bn) until a substantial improvement is seen in the [...]
Analyst picks for 18 September 2012 September 17, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Long Aussie dollar-dollar Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week The Aussie dollar-dollar failed to break out on Friday, with an inverse hammer pattern forming on the daily chart at the descending trend line. Given the Fed’s dollar debasement programme, we [...]
Business as usual at London Fashion Week September 17, 2012 British designers have achieved the balance between creative flair and commercial nous London Fashion Week has been another creative success – British designers know they have nothing left to prove on that front. But its success over the past few seasons is increasingly owed to its shrewd business acumen. Traditionally, the capital has been criticised [...]
FTSE 100 slips after touching highs last week September 17, 2012 The main share index opened down this morning, as it retreated after touching six-month highs on Friday thanks to the US Federal Reserve’s annoucement of unlimited stimulus. Miners led the index down, as slowing growth in China forced base metal prices lower. Ophir Energy lost 4.06 per cent in early trading, despite it announcing better-than-expected [...]
Euphoria of Federal Reserve boost waning as market fatigue creeps in September 16, 2012 COMPARING the Federal Reserve to a rehab clinic offering addicted investors a synthetic high has been a favourite of Wall Street wags ever since the first round of Fed stimulus nearly four years ago. The punch line is that you always need more and more to get the same high and each bout of euphoria [...]
Rapid responses September 16, 2012 Banking rules [Re: Why Britain’s banking rules arent’ restricting economic growth, Friday] Paul Fisher’s article is excellent. It challenges the public perception that banking rules are too restrictive and kill, effectively, the economic recovery. There are real problems facing our economy, but there is also no substitute for good credit risk analysis. The time of [...]