FTSE sees big intra-day swings on varied reports December 11, 2011 WE continue to experience big intra-day swings in equity markets. Last week, the FTSE 100 broke above resistance at 5,600 (the 61.8 per cent Fibonacci Retracement of this year’s May-to-August sell-off) on three separate occasions. It went on to briefly test resistance at its 200-day moving average around 5,630 although it fell back sharply from [...]
Draghi: I will bail out banks but not states December 8, 2011 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates to record lows and vowed to step up efforts to keep banks afloat – but will not fulfil hopes that it will bail out indebted governments, bank boss Mario Draghi (pictured) announced yesterday. Acknowledging the credit crunch sweeping the Eurozone, banks can now access unlimited amounts of [...]
LTA appoint Murray’s mum December 8, 2011 TENNIS: The Lawn Tennis Association has appointed Judy Murray as Britain’s New Fed Cup team captain. The mother of British No1 Andy Murray, a former national coach, will also work closely with the LTA player team in mentoring some of Britain’s upcoming female performance coaches. Britain’s women are next in Fed Cup action against Israel in [...]
AVB FUMES, DROGBA BLOOMS December 6, 2011 Victory provides ‘slap in the face’ for Chelsea’s critics CHELSEA 3 vs VALENCIA 0 CHELSEA manager Andre Villas-Boas launched a blistering attack on perceived media “persecution” after swerving a premature Champions League exit and emerging as surprise winners of Group E. Two goals and a vintage performance from Didier Drogba, plus a third from Ramires, [...]
THE MULTIPLE SCHEMES TO DEFEND EURO December 6, 2011 AS THE European leaders meet for their summit tomorrow, currency traders will have only one question on their mind – can the Eurozone move towards greater fiscal integration? The European sovereign debt markets have become nothing more than a game of chipping away at the weakest link. As soon as officials cobble together a bailout [...]
Central banks ride to rescue November 30, 2011 WORLD markets rallied yesterday, after the Fed said it was prepared to pump the global economy full of cheap dollars in a bid to stave off an impending credit crunch. Banks can already borrow the greenback from central bankers if they are short of cash – but yesterday Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke slashed the [...]
The bubble has burst: it is futile to resist reality November 30, 2011 THERE are two ways that one can react to change. The first is to embrace it; the second is to resist it. Contrary to what is often believed, the second option doesn’t always fail – there is no such thing as historical determinism. Wars can often be avoided, for example, or populist tides resisted. What [...]
THE FED’S LIQUIDITY COST CUT November 30, 2011 Q.WHAT IS THIS LIQUIDITY THAT’S BEING OFFERED? A.The Federal Reserve offers dollars to other central banks, in exchange for their currency, at a fixed exchange rate. Those central banks – including the Bank of England – then lend it out to banks that need cash but can’t get it from the market. Q.HAS IT BEEN [...]
More jobs in US as economy still outperforms EU November 30, 2011 BUSINESS activity shot up in the US in November, according to the Chicago purchasing managers’ index (PMI), while companies created the most jobs in nearly a year according to the ADP national employment report, both out yesterday. The PMI rose to 62.6 this month, up from 58.4 in October. Such a strong jump represents a [...]
Trying to pour liquidity into a frozen market November 30, 2011 YESTERDAY’S coordinated central bank move flipped the FX markets onto their head, with increased dollar liquidity triggering a sell-off of the greenback, with the euro and the Aussie and Kiwi dollars coming out on top. The announcement came hot on the heals of the news that the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, [...]