Cheslea retain title hopes After Reebok romp January 24, 2011 BOLTON 0 vs CHELSEA 4 CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti believes his side can still retain their Premier League title following last night’s comfortable win over Bolton. A moving tribute to Wanderers’ legend Nat Lofthouse, who passed away 10 days ago, preceded the match, but Chelsea were in far from sympathetic mood as goals from Didier [...]
Revolutionising investment advice January 24, 2011 A REVOLUTION is on the way. In the next 24 months you will hear about the biggest changes in the supply and delivery of financial advice there have probably ever been. It’s known as the Retail Distribution Review, or RDR. In a nutshell the three proposed changes on the way are: 1. Clearer differentiation between [...]
New US house and jobs data points to recovery January 20, 2011 New US data has offered renewed hope for the economy’s two stubborn trouble spots – employment, and the housing market. US home resales jumped more than expected in December despite bad weather as sellers cut prices while jobless claims fell sharply last week, official figures showed. Existing home sales soared 12.3 per cent to an [...]
INVESTORS GIVEN CAUSE TO CHEER January 17, 2011 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT EUROZONE investors had cause to cheer last week as bond auctions in Portugal, Spain and Italy went better than expected. As the auctions approached, their success looked pretty much guaranteed thanks to the efforts of the European Central Bank (ECB), along with promises of support from China and even chronically-indebted Japan. [...]
Chinese torture is holding back the commodities rally January 16, 2011 CHINA was once famous for, among other things, an obscure torture method: reputedly a way to drive suspects insane by slowly dripping water onto their foreheads. Nowadays, however, many commodities traders must feel rather like victims of the technique. The Chinese government has been slowly drip-feeding the commodities markets with hints about monetary tightening. On [...]
AIG freed for share sale after Fed payback January 14, 2011 THE recapitalisation of bailed-out insurer American International Group has closed, clearing the way for the US government to sell its 92 per cent stake. AIG has repaid the Federal Reserve Bank of New York $47bn (£30bn), the US Treasury said, which includes the outstanding balance on the $85bn loan granted to the company in 2008. [...]
US retail sales back to annual growth January 14, 2011 SALES at US retailers in 2010 reversed two years of contraction and posted the biggest gain in more than a decade, a government report showed. Retail sales rose 0.6 per cent in December, slightly less than expected, but the growth was still the sixth straight month of growth, the Commerce Department said. And total sales [...]
ECB buys time with strong Spanish sale January 13, 2011 THE euro rose to a three-week high against the Swiss franc and regained some of the ground lost to the dollar after successful bond auctions in Spain and Italy yesterday. However, with strong suspicions that the European Central Bank (ECB) is buying up bonds to keep a lid on yields, the relief is likely to [...]
Fed: Economy is recovering January 12, 2011 AMERICA’S end of year economic uptick was confirmed by the Federal Reserve beige book last night. The report, based on anecdotal accounts from businesses across the Fed’s regional branches, painted a “positive, although still generally cautious” picture. “Economic activity continued to expand moderately from November through December,” the report said. “Conditions were generally said to [...]
Wall St gets boost from banking stocks January 12, 2011 US stocks ended solidly higher yesterday after European debt fears eased and sparked a broad advance, led by banks and commodity-related shares. Investors expect further flows into equities on speculation the economy will strengthen. About seven stocks rose for every three that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Sectors typically helped by rising inflation, [...]