Dow gains on retail sales but Nasdaq suffers April 16, 2012 THE Dow rose yesterday as robust US retail sales data helped large-cap consumer stocks, but a four per cent slide in Apple hurt the Nasdaq. US retail sales for March shot up 0.8 per cent, sharply higher than the forecast, pushing Procter & Gamble up 1.5 per cent, while giving Wal-Mart Stores, the world’s largest [...]
AS YIELDS MOVE WIDER, SPANISH WOES CONTINUE TO WEIGH ON THE EURO April 16, 2012 FX360 One of my colleagues wrote last week: “You can’t spell Spain without pain,” and truer words have not been spoken. As currency traders return to a full week of work after the Easter break, euro-dollar finds itself under pressure as credit spreads in the region once again widen out. After a few months of [...]
THE TIPSTER Not just any trading report April 16, 2012 British favourite Marks and Spencer has had a good run so far this year, rallying some 25 per cent before giving some of that back in the recent correction by stock markets. Today’s results will be keenly watched to see just how well its clothing sales have held up where they could benefit from the [...]
Dos and don’ts of mobile trading April 16, 2012 THE rise of mobile trading over the past few years has been tremendous and it’s easy to understand why. Before the launch of the iPhone, most mobile platforms were fairly average with poor usability and a lack of trading tools to make the most out of trading on the move. Today you can trade wherever [...]
Analyst picks for 16 April 2012 April 16, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Looking to buy euro-Swiss franc Expertise: Combining technical and fundamental analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 month to 3 months It is hard to ignore the very well publicised SNB SFr1.2000 floor and ability for the market to remain so well supported by the barrier. Still, the market [...]
Don’t get stuck in a sinking ship: Bail out in good time April 16, 2012 ON AVERAGE, traders are right more than half the time that they trade, but despite that, many see themselves wiped out with big losses. But why is this? All things being equal, if you win more than you lose, you should come out ahead. But while traders are quite willing to cash in their chips [...]
News from retailers and job figures will make the week ahead April 15, 2012 WHILE the first couple of days indicate a quiet start for the UK market, activity is likely to increase by the middle of the week. All eyes will be on consumer price index data tomorrow for any signs of inflation moving one way or another. Tesco reports full year numbers on Wednesday. The supermarket lost [...]
London’s property: As unsafe as houses April 15, 2012 INSANITY, Albert Einstein famously said, is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The crash might have petrified property investors at the bottom and middle of the market, but in London’s swankier postcodes prices are back on the up. The question is whether these represent sound long-term investments or another [...]
A watch entrepreneur who timed it perfectly April 15, 2012 FOR entrepreneur Christopher Ward time really is money – his fledgling watch company has grown into a profitable multi-million pound business that takes on the might of the Swiss giants. From humble beginnings in a small Soho workshop, the company’s timepieces are now designed and made in Switzerland, which has given the brand the cachet [...]
A seemingly uninspiring outfit that fashioned over $500m April 15, 2012 I THINK I was having a coffee with friends when one of them, Natalie Massenet, casually asked me to back her new idea, Net-A-Porter.com, a haute couture website with access to the top labels. It was early 2000 and the tech-boom was raging. Valuations were sky-high and every man, woman and dog had a “brilliant” [...]