Analyst picks for 6 March 2012 March 5, 2012 FOREX STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Sell dollar-yen above ¥81.00, stop-loss on close above ¥82.50 Expertise: Technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week Although we are in the process of a major structural shift, with the market looking to carve a longer-term cyclical bottom after record lows back in October, [...]
The week ahead: Oil, gas, defence and UK interest March 4, 2012 Today Petrofac, a solutions provider to the oil and gas industry, announces full year results today. The first set of results after a restructuring exercise in 2011 could see a hike in profits. Petrofac has recently been awarded an Iraqi oilfield project, building on its presence in the region. Glencore is announcing its full-year numbers [...]
THE WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD March 4, 2012 THE five-month stock rally has been built on a string of improving economic data that suggests US corporate profit growth will remain intact, according to some analysts. Job growth is a big part of that picture. It has lagged most other parts of the US economy, a point frequently raised by Republican presidential hopefuls. But [...]
UK venture capitalism: Opportunities and costs March 4, 2012 JACOB MOSELEY THE venture capital industry in the UK, and the rest of Europe, is in something of a state of flux. During the tech bubble era, venture capital fundraising and investment activity expanded rapidly, but when the bubble burst, many firms struggled to survive the subsequent economic downturn. This has led to a consolidation [...]
RED TAPE MUST BE SHREDDED NOT LOOSENED March 4, 2012 THE coalition government has been talking the talk on economic growth in recent weeks. But it isn’t yet walking the walk. Well, they might occasionally be taking a few tentative, baby steps in the right direction. But it’s not enough. It’s nothing like enough. In his budget later this month, the chancellor should announce a [...]
Beat Europe’s economic blues by setting sights upon a brighter future March 4, 2012 MONEY, as they say, makes the world go around. Capital drives innovation and as success begets success the fruits of previous endeavours are ploughed into products and services of future creative destruction. Silicon Valley is the modern pinnacle of this virtuous cycle of money, brains and optimism. It’s all too easy to compare our failings [...]
Sipps are a tasty cocktail but are too neat for some March 4, 2012 ON THE face of it, self-invested personal pensions (Sipp) appear to be the perfect way for everyone to save for the future – offering the investment trinity of value, flexibility and choice. But Sipps aren’t always and everywhere the right choice – it could pay to weigh up the pros and cons. THE TRANSFER MARKET [...]
Fixing rates is a safer option March 4, 2012 ALONG with discussing our regularly inclement climate, house prices and mortgages are a national obsession of the British. However, according to the latest research from unbiased.co.uk, there is room to take the level of interest in the interest we pay on our mortgages up another notch. Unbiased.co.uk has recently found that only 49 per cent [...]
Banks and financial shares lift FTSE on liquidity surge March 1, 2012 BANKS and other financial stocks, buoyed by central bank infusions of money into the system, helped Britain’s top share index rebound yesterday with fund manager Man Group surging after it reported client outflows have slowed. London’s blue-chip index closed up 59.74 points, or 1 per cent, at 5,931.25, erasing the 1 per cent drop on [...]
US stocks return to the highs of 2008 March 1, 2012 US stocks rose yesterday, moving back to 2008 highs, after a jump in bank shares and further upbeat data on the labour market, though sharp gains in oil prices limited the advance. After losses on Wednesday, the rebound took the S&P 500 back above its 1,370 resistance level, which is seen as key to maintaining [...]