Greek affairs so labyrinthine even Theseus would struggle November 6, 2011 INVESTORS and traders alike spent most of last week dazed and confused. Equity, bond, commodity and FX markets swung around wildly as they responded to headline news out of Greece and G20. There was no time available for detailed analysis, and even Theseus would have struggled to navigate the labyrinth that is Greek politics. While [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD November 6, 2011 US stock investors have had to take their own self-help course on living with uncertainty due to Europe’s crisis, and they may need to draw on that this week because it’s never clear when the next upheaval will come. Greece is still in turmoil. Prime Minister George Papandreou will stand down today, and more details [...]
Bright opportunities are what an investor wants November 6, 2011 TWO things matter hugely when it comes to selecting a business for investment,” says Patrick Reeve, the founder and managing partner of Albion Ventures, a venture capital firm. “The business needs to offer an interesting market opportunity and the entrepreneur heading it up has to be someone who is very bright and adaptable.” But what [...]
SMES NEED TO BE CAREFUL OF VOLATILITY November 6, 2011 VOLATILITY in financial markets is at a record high. Businesses must wake up to the very real consequences of current global events and the potential impact on their bottom line. Volatility means risk and uncertainty, and uncertainty is a serious concern for business. These wild swings in commodity, equity and currency markets can and have [...]
Fibonacci – either to-do or voodoo November 6, 2011 FAMED for introducing the Hindu-Arabic positional number system to Europe, Leonardo Fibonacci was one of the greatest mathematicians of his day (c.1170-c.1250) and 80 years is not a bad spread for the Middle Ages. He didn’t discover Fibonacci numbers, but in Liber Abaci he enlightened Europeans on this Indian intellectual innovation. He explained Fibonacci numbers [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD November 6, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Today, Rentokil Initial announces. The global business services company – which is active in Europe, America, Africa and Asia – will be looking for results that aren’t a pest. ● Tomorrow, Vodafone and Marks & Spencer both announce. The former is the world’s largest mobile telecommunications company, and the latter is the [...]
THE TIPSTER November 6, 2011 IT HAS been a tough year for retailers, in particular clothing retailers, who’ve been subjected to not only weakening consumer demand, but also higher cotton prices. With the share price down some 15 per cent so far this year, investors will be hoping that Tuesday’s numbers might spark something for Marks and Spencer. Capital Spreads [...]
DRAGHI TURNOVER RAISES ECB MOVES November 6, 2011 ON THURSDAY, the world’s equity markets got an unexpected, but thoroughly welcome present: a 25 basis points reduction in the European Central Bank’s (ECB) key lending rate. And the generous benefactor? None other than Mario Draghi, its newly installed head. Analysts had not expected the move, not least because Draghi only assumed his new role [...]
FTSE ends the day higher on EU hope November 3, 2011 INVESTORS shrugged off chaos in the Eurozone as Britain’s top share index climbed higher yesterday, with leaders of the most powerful nations meeting in France in an effort to solve Europe’s crippling debt crisis. London’s blue chip index rose 61.54 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 5,545.64, as the index continued to recoup the sharp [...]
Stocks rally on Greece November 3, 2011 US stocks rallied for a second day yesterday as Greece backed away from a proposed referendum that threatened its membership in the euro. The European Central Bank also provided a happy surprise early to investors with an interest rate cut, a sign of a more aggressive approach to confront weak growth in the region. “There’s [...]