Taking a Sipp for greater control March 16, 2011 WHETHER it’s fine wine or a pension, you need to be a connoisseur to get the most from taking a sip. But while almost everyone will get some benefit from a sip of wine, the same cannot be said about self-invested personal pensions (Sipps). Much like an investment ISA, a Sipp offers a tax-free wrap [...]
FTSE falls to a 15-week low over Japanese nuclear fears March 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell to its lowest closing level in 15 weeks yesterday as fears about a nuclear catastrophe in Japan prompted investors to shun risky assets. The FTSE 100 ended down for a fifth consecutive session, off 79.96 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 5,695.28, wiping nearly £21bn off the market. The index [...]
Fed update helps to limit Wall St’s losses March 15, 2011 US stocks fell one per cent but ended far from session lows yesterday on the Federal Reserve’s more upbeat economic view and growing sentiment that Japan’s nuclear crisis would only temporarily depress shares. In a second straight day of losses tied to Japan, the S&P 500 fell to within four points of support at 1,257, [...]
ABNORMAL YEN STRENGTH MAY NOT LAST LONG March 15, 2011 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT IMAGINE a country with a debt-to-GDP ratio in excess of 200 per cent, faced with a massive natural disaster that leads to a nuclear emergency. The situation deteriorates further as a third of the country’s energy’s production is lost. Under normal conditions, that country’s currency would come under sustained selling [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS March 15, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short Aussie dollar-dollar, Short Aussie dollar-Canadian dollar Expertise: Fundamental and Technical Analysis with Risk Management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week The picture of risk trends and individual fundamental paths have blurred significantly this past week, following the devastating Japanese quake and the EU’s summit. [...]
The essential dates for the diary of every forex trader March 15, 2011 THE US Federal Reserve announced yesterday evening that it would be making no changes to its $600bn Treasury bond purchase program and would not be making any alterations to its interest rate. The Fed made no reference to the crisis in Japan, however its predictable continuation of its current interest rates will maintain the pain [...]
THE TIPSTER March 15, 2011 AT TIMES of worry, investors will naturally flock to safe havens and this explains the rise in the Swiss franc. Japanese stocks saw the worst two-day decline since 1987, brought on by the combined events of the tsunami, earthquake and now the radiation leak. This encouraged investors to pile in to the Swiss franc and [...]
They stand united, but they will fall divided March 15, 2011 SUCCESS was declared at the weekend, as European politicians came to an early agreement on increasing the size and scope of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). In response, the euro rose 0.7 per cent against the dollar on Monday to $1.40, while yields have fallen in the peripheral bond markets of Greece and Ireland. [...]
TRADE TRENDS IF MOMENTUM TAKES A LOSS March 15, 2011 CONSULTING ANALYST, INTERTRADER A DEAR child has many names. The strategy below is called “lost momentum” in my vocabulary, but it no doubt has other names too. It is in essence a form of trend following strategy. INGREDIENT NO. 1: DEFINE THE TREND I recommend using a simple or exponential moving average (MA) of more [...]
Around one fifth of senior finance roles are held by women: it is still far too few March 15, 2011 HEAD OF ACCA UK LAST Tuesday was International Women’s Day, the hundredth International Women’s Day, to be precise. Did you notice? Did it matter? There are, after all, multiple “days” recognised throughout the year. I hope you’ve all got World Post Day (9 October) and World TV Day (21 November) in your diaries too. Both [...]