FTSE loses almost all its 2012 gains on renewed fears for the Eurozone April 10, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index plunged yesterday to surrender almost all its remaining 2012 gains, led by falls in risk-sensitive miners, oils, and banking stocks after last Friday’s weak US jobs data undermined global economic expectations. The FTSE 100 index closed down 128.12 points, or 2.2 per cent, at 5,595.55, its second biggest percentage fall of [...]
Looking out for a sign of further quantitative easing April 10, 2012 VOLATILITY has returned to the forex market on the back of last week’s US macroeconomic news, adding to uncertainty about the US recovery. The Federal Reserve says it does not see the need for further quantitative easing (QE3) at this time, with the Fed’s shift to a more hawkish bias due to a string of [...]
THE TIPSTER | Vedanta hoping for a silver lining April 9, 2012 Last year was not a good one for Vedanta shareholders, as their company’s share price dropped from an opening level of around £24 per share to a low of around £9 before recovering a little. PR worries, and a rather opaque corporate structure, meant that this company was nevertheless a poor performer. The next update [...]
Analyst picks for 10 April 2012 April 9, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Looking to Buy euro-Swiss franc Expertise: Fundamental and Technical Analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 month to 3 months We don’t usually incorporate fundamentals into our trade ideas, but it’s hard to ignore the Swiss National Bank SFr1.2000 floor. Still, the market is technically in the process of [...]
Fed’s caution hits Wall Street April 4, 2012 US stocks fell for a second day yesterday as investors contemplated a world without monetary stimulus and a poorly received bond auction in Spain suggested the effects of Europe’s funding operations were waning. Selling was broad as indexes tracking nine of the 10 S&P 500 sectors ended lower, with financial, materials and technology shares the [...]
Fed pours cold water on hopes of new easing April 4, 2012 FEDERAL Reserve policymakers have backed away from the need for another round of monetary stimulus as the US economy gradually improves, denting stock markets and pushing the dollar up against several currencies. Minutes of the central bank’s meeting published last night showed only two of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee’s 10 voting members saw [...]
Canopius eyes Omega takeover April 4, 2012 LLOYD’S of London insurer Omega yesterday announced that is has received a potential offer for the firm – from a rival that made a far more generous bid at the end of last year. Fellow Lloyd’s firm Canopius has made an offer of 65p per share in cash for the company, well below the 83p per [...]
Wall Street drops on Fed caution April 3, 2012 US stocks fell yesterday, with the S&P 500 retreating from four-year highs after the US Federal Reserve said it was less inclined to provide more economic stimulus. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 64.94 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 13,199.55 at the close. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 5.73 points, or 0.40 [...]
Analyst picks for 3 April 2012 April 2, 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, and this now likely opens additional upside back towards the October 2011 peak by $1.6170. While our core bias remains bearish, [...]
UK finance chiefs: The worst is over April 1, 2012 THE UK’S top finance chiefs no longer expect the country to face a double-dip recession, and are instead advising their firms to expand into an increasingly optimistic landscape, a new survey revealed today. Just 30 per cent of chief financial officers surveyed in Deloitte’s landmark poll now expect a renewed recession, down from 54 per [...]