Outsourcing is not just for large firms September 23, 2010 CONSUMERS are used to reading “made in China” on everything under the sun. After all, with every business in need of cutting costs, outsourcing looks ever more appealing. But, contrary to what you might think, this does not just apply to large corporates. The cost savings for small businesses can also be huge, allowing entrepreneurs [...]
FIRING September 23, 2010 Q. How do I fire someone and stay within the law? A.Letting someone go can be a bit of a legal minefield, made more complicated by the distinctions between different types of dismissal and the various processes that apply. To put it simply, there are five reasons deemed fair cause for dismissal: capability, conduct, retirement, [...]
Indices don’t deliver growth on the frontiers September 22, 2010 WITH average pension fund exposure to emerging markets (EM) languishing around 3-8 per cent, portfolio rebalancing should be a top priority. But beyond the impressive returns offered by developing economy exposure, there is a faster-growing subset of this asset class to consider: “frontier” markets – those countries with high potential but less developed investment environments [...]
Short supply will start to push the oil price up September 22, 2010 AFTER the furore following the BP oil well disaster, it now seems like crude oil is the only commodity that people aren’t talking about. Surges in the price of cotton, wheat and even orange juice mean soft commodities are hitting the headlines on a daily basis. In contrast, movements in the oil price have been [...]
CHEAP SILVER ALTERNATIVE BUY TO GOLD September 22, 2010 SENIOR ANALYST, ETF SECURITIES GOLD has continued to post new all-time highs this week as gold prices have closed in on $1,300 an ounce, but what of its close cousin, silver? While the gold price continues to rise, the silver price remains at less than half of its historic high of the early 1980s. But [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS September 22, 2010 BLACKROCK’S ISHARES OFFERS NEW ETFS The Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) platform of BlackRock, iShares has launched a new swap-based product platform, which gives exposure to India and Russia. This development is in response to the growing appetite for exposure to difficult to access markets. The first products to roll off the platform and list on [...]
THE TIPSTER September 22, 2010 Mitchells & Butlers has lost ground this month despite last week reporting it is paying around £20m for 22 Ha Ha Bar & Grill restaurants. Can today’s trading update, which analysts expect to provide positive news, help lift the stock back up above the 300p level? ShortsandLongs.com has a rolling spread of 294.5p-296.1p. The afterglow [...]
Banks drag FTSE down as concerns over US recovery harms sentiment September 22, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares fell yesterday, led by banks as worries over the economic recovery in the US and lack of action taken by the Federal Reserve hit sentiment, offsetting gains in miners. The FTSE 100 ended down 24.28 points or 0.4 per cent at 5,551.91, after falling 0.5 per cent on Tuesday. The US central [...]
Wall Street ends lower on major tech decliners September 22, 2010 US stocks slipped on yesterday, ending the Dow’s five-day winning streak, following Adobe’s discouraging revenue outlook and investors’ disappointment over Microsoft’s new dividend. Investors also weighed the impact of the Federal Reserve’s earlier statement, which indicated the central bank was edging closer to pumping hundreds of billions of new dollars into the sluggish economy. Adobe [...]
For accountants, qualifications are a matter of taste September 22, 2010 WHEN they get their first job, many accountants worry that they will be pigeon-holed by their qualification. ACA is seen as the City gold standard in some quarters, and those who aren’t offered it might worry that their ambition of becoming a FTSE 100 CEO will be thwarted. On the other hand, ACCA is a [...]