BILL OF THE WEEK September 18, 2011 SIX SQUARE Mile brokers spent last Tuesday afternoon locked in back-to-back meetings – a lengthy lunch meeting at The Door Oyster Bar & Grill on Cornhill, that is, where the party remained until 6.30pm in the evening. The steak and oyster specialist is a new addition to the Square Mile dining scene, so the diners [...]
MELTDOWN MONDAY THREE YEARS ON: THE EVENTS OF 15 SEPTEMBER 2008 September 16, 2011 ON 15 September 2008, global markets were thrown into panic mode as US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure a rescue sale. The announcement kicked off a day of unprecedented corporate chaos in the US – by late morning, Bank of America had agreed to buy struggling Merrill Lynch, and [...]
Unhappy States as prices rise September 16, 2011 A MEASURE of financial misery is up in the US, according to figures out yesterday showing unemployment and inflation on the rise. Annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation increased to 3.8 per cent. That figure is added to the unemployment statistics – currently 9.1 per cent – to create the “misery index”, which now stands [...]
Selfish City are stalled on their big night September 14, 2011 MANCHESTER CITY (1) vs NAPOLI (1) MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini accused his players of putting personal glory before the team after Napoli held the Premier League pace-setters to a draw on their Champions League debut. City needed a free-kick from Aleksandar Kolarov to rescue a point from their first match against Europe’s elite for [...]
MBA students go gaga over lessons from pop stars September 14, 2011 LOOK along the business books section in a bookshop and you will find many tomes that promise to teach you how to invest like Warren Buffett or to learn from Bill Gates how a start-up can turn you into a billionaire. But alongside those you will also find another sub-genre of books that promise to [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS September 13, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Long dollar-yen above ¥77.75 Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week Conditions are not very favourable for intermediate swings for either euro or dollar-based pairs. For the euro, the progress of the region’s crisis is a constant battle between market [...]
OBAMA’S JOB PLAN BRINGS CALLS FOR QE3 September 12, 2011 AT THE end of last week, investors were digesting President Obama’s proposed $447bn jobs package. This was significantly bigger than the $300bn expected, and the hope is that it will encourage firms to start hiring again. But everything comes with a cost, and savings will have to be made elsewhere. The President has passed these [...]
THE TIPSTER September 11, 2011 LAST week’s intervention by the Swiss National Bank and some affirmative action to try to stimulate the economy by President Obama suggest that we’ll see more of this Keynesian approach to policy in the months ahead. The bottom line is if it’s translating into cheap money then expect equity markets to find cheer off the [...]
Obama urges new stimulus September 8, 2011 AMERICA looks set for yet another double-pronged dose of government stimulus, after President Barack Obama launched his “American Jobs Act” late last night, and Fed chief Ben Bernanke hinted at more monetary easing. Obama urged Congress to vote through his $447bn (£280bn) programme of tax cuts and government spending hikes, repeating the words “pass this [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 8, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES DEADLINE LOOMS TO OUT SECRET SUITORS Companies covertly circling UK acquisition targets are being warned by advisers that they risk the disclosure of their identities to the market in coming days if they pursue bid talks. On 19 September, the UK Takeover Panel, which regulations M&A of public companies, brings into force new rules [...]