The unstoppable rise of exchange-traded funds January 20, 2010 WHEN one of Europe’s largest hedge funds, Marshall Wace, announced earlier this week that it would be launching an exchange-traded fund (ETF) to track its flagship strategy, it was further confirmation that ETFs are entering the mainstream on this side of the Atlantic. In their standard form, ETFs passively track the performance of an underlying [...]
NEW BREED OF ETFS SPREAD DEFAULT RISK January 20, 2010 MARK WEEKS CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ETF EXCHANGE FOLLOWING the financial crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers, investors are more keenly aware of the problems that can ensue if a financial institution were to collapse. Those using passive investment tools such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are also more conscious about liquidity and index replication. ETFs have [...]
Lending restrictions in China turn the screw on the miners January 20, 2010 TOP shares recorded a three-week closing low yesterday as more signs of fiscal tightening in China hurt commodity stocks. The FTSE 100 closed down 92.34 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 5,420.80 – the lowest closing level since December 31, 2009. It posted its biggest one-day fall in a month. The index is up 57 [...]
Dow suffers worst 2010 trading drop January 20, 2010 THE Dow suffered its worst drop of 2010 yesterday day as US stocks succumbed to fears that China’s curbs on bank lending might jeopardize the global economic recovery, while IBM’s outlook sparked caution about the technology sector. Chinese authorities have ordered some major banks to curb their lending over the rest of this month after [...]
CFTC action is good for UK forex dealers January 19, 2010 After giving energy traders a relatively easy deal in a bid to curb speculation in the commodity markets last week, the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) has now turned its attentions to forex. The agency is proposing a dramatic regulatory overhaul for the foreign exchange markets in the US, worth more than $3.6 trillion a [...]
EURO-DOLLAR HANGING IN THE BALANCE January 19, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT Although the year is barely two weeks old it is already becoming abundantly clear to most currency traders that rates on both sides of the Atlantic are like to remain stationary for most of 2010. Last Thursday, at the European Central Bank’s monthly press conference, president Jean-Claude Trichet provided a [...]
Pound rises on Greek woes January 19, 2010 AS ANY British tourist heading to the Eurozone or the US will be aware, our pounds don’t go half as far as they used to. Sterling has been the whipping boy of the currency markets for over a year now and there’s little sign, at least in terms of the big picture, that we Brits [...]
The Tipster January 19, 2010 STERLING has been having a storming week and traders are beginning to reconsider their uber-bearish view of the pound. Yesterday’s record inflation data – the annual consumer prices index leapt to 2.9 per cent – is likely to be followed by a period of high inflation. This is forecast to put pressure on the Monetary [...]
Drugmakers give FTSE a lift as investors bet on healthcare January 19, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index ended up 0.3 per cent yesterday, led by pharmaceuticals on hopes that US President Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms could be hampered, while banks fell after results from US bank Citigroup. The FTSE 100 index rose 18.75 points to 5,513.14, extending Monday’s gains when the market rose 0.7 per cent. Pharmaceuticals echoed [...]
Strong IBM result boosts tech shares January 19, 2010 US stocks rose broadly yesterday, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh 15-month closing highs as investors bet a potential Republican victory in Massachusetts’ Senate race could stall Obama’s reform agenda. Wall Street also got a boost from technology shares, which rallied in anticipation of strong earnings from bellwether International Business Machines, which [...]