The vagaries of lending money to governments September 7, 2011 CONCERNS about the prospects for global growth haunt the managers of the nation’s wealth. Bonds have broadly provided better returns than equities, but investors should be mindful of the sting in the tail that could come with hyperinflation. A FLIGHT TO SAFETY The West is currently a tale of two bond markets. Phil Tyson of [...]
INVESTING IN THESE TIMES OF INFLATION September 7, 2011 INFLATION can seriously erode the value of your wealth, so investing wisely is imperative. While the current outlook sees interest rates on hold for longer, inflation continues to surprise on the upside. UK GDP grew a measly 0.2 per cent over the last quarter and data released yesterday showed industrial production contracted in July after [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS September 7, 2011 NEW MOBILE APP FOR INVESTORS Hargreaves Lansdown has released a new smartphone app, allowing investors to view their Isa, Sipp and other investments on both iPhone and Android systems. Ofcom figures show that 27 per cent of UK adults now own a smartphone.“The age of connected computing is with us,” says Richard Hunter, head of [...]
Institutions won’t cut off Swissie September 7, 2011 ON Tuesday, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) made an announcement that it would put in place a floor on the Euro-Swiss franc exchange rate, with the SNB indicating that it was prepared to buy foreign currencies in “unlimited quantities”. So how does this move affect institutional investors and currency hedging policy? There were reports following [...]
A rally in commodities gives a rare fillip to the FTSE 100 September 6, 2011 A RALLY by hard-pressed commodity issues hauled Britain’s top share index higher yesterday as investors fished choppy waters for bargains after sharp falls in the past two sessions. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 54.26 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 5,156.84, having hit a peak of 5,190.2 in the morning and [...]
Wall Street falls on Europe fears September 6, 2011 WALL Street fell for a third day yesterday on fears Europe still has failed to tackle its debt crisis, prompting worries the market is headed to new lows for the year. Investors channeled cash into less risky assets as doubts resurfaced over the political will of Italy and Greece to push through tough budget measures [...]
Swiss move signals end of the phoney war September 6, 2011 YESTERDAY morning, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) took the bold move to put in place currency controls in the form of a minimum exchange rate between the euro and the Swiss franc at SFr1.20. The SNB said that it will protect the franc “with the utmost determination.” The SNB has also indicated that it is [...]
EURO FACES NEW TROUBLE OVER BAILOUT September 6, 2011 WE NEED a fiscal union,” declared Joaquin Almunia, the EU Competition Commissioner, and he couldn’t have been more right. Euro-dollar has declined more than 300 points since last week, as renewed concerns about the fiscal viability of the union have once again put pressure on the single currency. The latest troubles stemmed from Finland and [...]
THE TIPSTER September 6, 2011 THE Royal Bank of Australia left rates unchanged as expected this month, but Australian dollar-dollar traders are keen to sell any rallies in Aussie dollar as it heads towards $1.060-$1.0650. This is the site of the 50 and 100-day moving averages and support/resistance going back several months. Strong support may not come in again until [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS September 6, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Long Aussie-Kiwi, long dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week The market finally took notice of the Eurozone’s financial troubles and the result was a sharp euro-dollar drop that easily hit reasonable targets. This pair could certainly do more; [...]