FTSE in modest rise as investors eye Fed April 24, 2012 The FTSE 100 saw a modest rally this morning led by banking and commodity stocks as investors looked for signs that the Federal Reserve will inject more liquidity into markets. London’s blue chip index was dented yesterday by uncertainty over who will be the next president of France, the collapse of the Dutch government and [...]
Analyst picks for 24 April 2012 April 23, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Sell sterling-dollar at $1.6210 Expertise: Technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 3 days to 1 week The market has recently broken to fresh 2012 highs beyond $1.6000. This now likely opens additional upside, back towards the October 2011 peak by $1.6165 further up. While our core bias remains [...]
INSIGHT MARKETS April 23, 2012 CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST THE news of the French election, with the Socialist candidate creeping ahead of incumbent president Nicholas Sarkozy, had the predictable effect of unsettling the FTSE yesterday morning. Although yesterday’s falls have only taken it back to the levels seen around a week ago, it is beginning to seem as if a combination [...]
LONDON REPORT April 22, 2012 UK investors are set for a busy week with a slew of earnings both here and on Wall Street, the release of Britain’s quarterly GDP rate and a decision from the Fed on the US Bank rate. Both the Nationwide Housing Prices report and Nationwide Consumer Confidence report are due out this week and today’s [...]
Robson’s tears after Brits lose Fed Cup clash April 22, 2012 TEARFUL Laura Robson admits she is “devastated” after failing to prevent Sweden claiming a 3-0 victory over Britain in tennis’s Fed Cup yesterday. The 18-year-old, a late replacement for the injured Elena Baltacha, lost 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to Sofia Arvidsson as Britain missed out on promotion to World Group II. Robson broke down at courtside [...]
Scientific progress and emerging markets give us all hope April 19, 2012 I AM as guilty as anybody of excessive gloominess. To be fair, I have an excuse: the government is floundering; Abu Qatada is making a mockery of Britain; the UK economy is stagnant; unemployment is elevated; taxes are rising; the nanny state is gaining ground; the Eurozone faces years of misery and eventual collapse; China [...]
US recovery stumbles on jobless jump April 19, 2012 NEW jobless benefit claims in the US were higher than expected last week, official data showed yesterday, while manufacturing activity slowed in April for the first time in five months. Initial jobless claims fell to 386,000 in the week to 14 April, from an upwardly revised 386,000 in the previous week and higher than the [...]
Fed asks banks to bid for risky assets portfolio April 18, 2012 THE NEW York Federal Reserve said yesterday it has asked eight investment banks to bid on risky assets from its Maiden Lane III portfolio, which was created during its 2008 bailout of insurer American International Group (AIG). This move would trim the US central bank’s balance sheet which about tripled from the emergency measures it [...]
Goldman knows the ECB flood can’t last forever April 17, 2012 BOTH Goldman and Citi have seen a strong recovery this quarter, as markets, flooded with shiny new euros from the ECB, have had to do something with the cash. They have also both benefited from a backlog of debt-hungry banks and corporates that were holding off on issuance for the latter half of 2011. In [...]
The importance of separating politics and currency markets April 17, 2012 AS THE European turmoil continues, why isn’t the euro falling to pieces before our eyes? With Eurozone policy makers blundering from one crisis to the next – at best covering up the cracks in the fiscal superstructure, at worst knocking out a supporting wall – you might be forgiven for expecting the euro to have [...]