Bank of America scare hits stocks October 19, 2010 U stocks posted their biggest loss in two months yesterday on fears banks might be on the hook for billions of dollars in souring mortgage bonds. The afternoon selloff hit investors already reeling from an unexpected credit tightening by China and disappointing financial results from Apple and IBM. The biggest scare came on news that [...]
The true scale of QE is n still cloaked in mystery October 19, 2010 EXPECTATIONS about quantitative easing (QE) have now been driven so high – with the market anticipating between $500bn and $1 trillion of extra liquidity – that someone was soon bound to call a halt to the party. That killjoy has arrived, in the form of US broker BTIG’s Mike O’Rourke. “There are many who have [...]
DOLLAR-YEN IS READY FOR A REBOUND October 19, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT WHY is the yen so strong? This is the most common question I am asked by anyone who follows the currency markets. It is easy to understand the perplexity. Japan has been mired in deflation and low growth for more than twenty years. Yet the price action in dollar-yen has [...]
THE TIPSTER October 19, 2010 RECENT weakness in the dollar has been exaggerated by talk of another round of stimulus spending from the Fed. While this is increasingly likely to happen, the dollar is approaching what looks like a point of inflection. ETX Capital is quoting 77.51-77.59 for the Dollar Index December contract. Euro-dollar may have had a recent uptrend, [...]
Cleantech investment gets government boost October 19, 2010 LATER today as he announces his comprehensive spending review George Osborne is expected to announce the creation of a £2bn green investment bank to fund sustainable projects in the UK. It follows Google announcing last week that it is to invest in a massive off-shore wind turbine project. And in China the government is trying [...]
US industrial output unexpectedly falls leading to calls for more QE October 18, 2010 US INDUSTRIAL output shrank last month for the first time in more than a year, in a sign the economy is in a slow growth rut that appears certain to lead to more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve. Another report yesterday showed homebuilder sentiment rose this month but remained at depressed levels, fortifying views [...]
QE2 IS LIKELY TO BE ABOVE $1 TRILLION October 18, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT FEW analysts now doubt that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will announce another round of quantitative easing (QE) at its November meeting. In fact, speculation has turned to the harm that Fed inaction could cause to the markets. After all, equities have been a one-way bet ever since QE2 became [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 17, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph LORD LAWSON URGES OSBORNE CUTS Lord Lawson of Blaby, the former Chancellor and a man used as a sounding board by George Osborne, has urged his successor to “be bold” when making cuts to expenditure in this week’s Comprehensive Spending Review. Lord Lawson said that in spite of fears of [...]
ECB should stay silent about monetary policy October 17, 2010 JEAN Claude Trichet and his colleagues at the ECB are playing a dangerous game. Despite the Eurozone’s recovery still looking fragile, the central bank’s key playmakers seem determined to talk about pushing policy back onto a more “normal” footing. Just last week, the Bundesbank’s Axel Weber, in a speech given in New York, indicated his [...]
Positive start forecast as rosy US results expected October 17, 2010 BLUE chips are set for gains on the open this morning, as investors are expected to focus on the prospect of some healthy numbers from the US by way of the third-quarter earnings season. GFT is quoting the FTSE 100 index to open up 22 points from Friday’s close, at a level of 5,725. The [...]