Falling dollar lifts shares throughout Wall Street October 25, 2010 US stocks rose to a five-and-a-half month high yesterday as a falling dollar, partly driven by expectations of further stimulus by the Federal Reserve, prompted investors to buy riskier assets. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 31.49 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 11,164.05. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 2.54 points, or 0.21 [...]
FED NEEDS TO END THIS QE UNCERTAINTY October 25, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT The G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers passed without incident, leading to a big sell-off in the US dollar yesterday, and a corresponding rally in everything else. There had been concern that member states would struggle to not criticise each other, escalating currency and trade tensions. The final communiqué [...]
WHY BERNANKE IS BEING DUBBED THE NEW RUDOLF VON HAVENSTEIN October 24, 2010 IT’S been a particularly rough week for Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke when it comes to comparisons. First, he had to endure a hapless US chief investment officer drawing obscure parallels between the Fed warning on the beginning of a global currency war and Hitler warning of the start of World War II (no, The [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD October 24, 2010 US stocks could see big swings to the downside this week on any remotely “bad” news since volatility indexes are at levels considered too low. Investors also will face a blizzard of earnings, which many analysts believe will continue to support the rally that began early this month. But any disappointments in either earnings or [...]
WINNERS & LOSERS October 24, 2010 A WEEKEND is a long time in sport – as this lot will attest. But while for some it was one to remember, others may wish they had never set foot out of the house. Here are this weekend’s heroes and villains. WINNER MATTEO MANASSERO At the tender age of 17 years and 188 days, Manassero [...]
Fed members hint again at QE October 21, 2010 A member of the US Federal Reserve said yesterday he would favour the Fed starting more monetary easing by buying more Treasury securities, if the US central bank believes it is necessary. James Bullard, president of the St Louis Federal Reserve, said the Fed could approve more QE in blocks of $100bn (£64bn) each monthly [...]
US jobs data adds to likelihood of QE October 21, 2010 NEW claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, but not enough to suggest much improvement in the distressed labour market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 23,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 452,000, the Labour Department said yesterday. Analysts had expected a drop to 455,000. Despite the fall, which also saw the unwinding [...]
CITY INSURANCE BROKERS TAKE TO THE RING AT EAST END FIGHT NIGHT October 21, 2010 PERHAPS it’s a sign of the times, but white collar boxing – City boys (and sometimes girls) swapping their suits for silk shorts and beating the living daylights out of each other – is becoming ever more popular among financial sector workers. With that in mind, it’s perhaps not so surprising that a sweating, heaving [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TRICHET OPPOSES DEAL IN EU BUDGET Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, has refused to endorse the full package of Eurozone sanctions decided by European Union finance ministers this week. The revelation came amid mounting criticism in Germany of a compromise deal that Angela Merkel, the chancellor, agreed with Nicolas Sarkozy, [...]
Falling dollar boosts commodity stocks October 20, 2010 Wall Street bounced back yesterday as a fall in the dollar spurred buying in industrial and commodity-linked shares, while another batch of strong corporate earnings added to gains. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 129.35 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 11,107.97. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 12.27 points, or 1.05 per cent, [...]