Pimco ditches US treasuries March 9, 2011 THE world’s largest bond fund, the Pimco Total Return fund, has sold off all of its US Treasures due to worries about the government’s ballooning budget deficit, which is forecast to reach $1.65 trillion this year. In his most recent monthly report, Pimco founder Bill Gross asked: “Who will buy treasuries when the Fed doesn’t?” [...]
Fed officials clash over QE3 March 7, 2011 Disagreements between senior Federal Reserve officials over a controversial third phase of quantitative easing (QE2) were voiced yesterday. The Fed’s Dennis Lockhart said a third phase of monetary stimulus (QE3) could not be ruled out if oil prices knock the US recovery. Yet his Fed colleague Charles Evans said “the hurdle is pretty high” for [...]
FED CARRIES ON WITH QE REGARDLESS March 7, 2011 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT EQUITY markets are attempting to shrug aside the civil unrest taking hold across north Africa and the Middle East. Yet the attendant rally in crude oil has taken both Brent and WTI contracts well above $100 per barrel, and this is not looking like a temporary phenomenon. Despite this, stocks rebounded [...]
Old guard Lampard and Terry renew Chelsea hope March 7, 2011 BLACKPOOL 1 vs CHELSEA 3 CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti insists securing a top four finish in the Premier League remains his side’s priority despite appearing to re-enter the title race last night. John Terry’s 20th minute header allied to Frank Lampard’s second-half brace secured an ultimately comfortable win against plucky Blackpool, who were unlucky not [...]
Bernanke: Save during boom eras March 3, 2011 Governments must stop overspending during upturns in the business cycle, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday. “Building an adequate reserve fund during good times may not be politically popular, but doing so can pay off during bad times,” he said. Meanwhile, his Fed colleague Narayana Kocherlakota endorsed Bernanke’s accommodative monetary policy, arguing it was [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES US OIL PRODUCTION REVIVES US oil production last year rose to its highest level in almost a decade, thanks to an increase in the use of “unconventional” extraction techniques. As a result, analysts believe the US was the largest contributor to the increase in global oil supplies last year over 2009, and is [...]
US economy strengthens in 2011 March 2, 2011 US ECONOMIC activity kept slowly gaining strength as 2011 opened and manufacturers and retailers were having some success in pushing their prices up, the Federal Reserve said yesterday. “Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve districts indicated that overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in January and early February,” the [...]
How Egypt and Libya saw risk being redefined March 1, 2011 SPEND 10 years as a professional foreign currency trader, another four as a fixed income trader, then head up several global trading desks and you get a very close look at that rarest of forex animals: Speculatorus Supersuccessfulus. “Those who make the greatest gains,” says Dean Popplewell, “are always the most silent.” Popplewell himself is [...]
LABOUR DATA WILL BE KEY FOR DOLLAR March 1, 2011 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT DESPITE continued turmoil in the Middle East, concerns over the Irish rescue deal and fears that rising commodity prices could snuff out the global economic recovery, the dollar can’t find a bid. Typically, in times of stress, the greenback rallies as investors seek safety and liquidity. So why is the [...]
Oil supply fears cause further FTSE fall March 1, 2011 Fears of oil supply disruption due to Middle East unrest hit the FTSE in afternoon trading, pushing the FTSE 100 down 0.97 per cent to 5.935.76. Concerns that the political unrest could spread to major world oil exporter Saudi Arabia caused crude prices to rise still higher and sent oil-sensitive travel stocks lower. Brent crude [...]