Give your charting abilities a boost January 17, 2010 ALTHOUGH more than 80 per cent of regular spread betters use technical analysis when they are making their trading decisions, scouring the charts in search of patterns that might indicate an imminent breakout or a trend reversal can take hours. And that assumes that you have managed to learn all the chart patterns – of [...]
Bank earnings to give initial lift ahead of UK inflation data and MPC minutes January 17, 2010 Stocks are expected to start the week higher this morning, supported by the prospect of an improvement in the US corporate earnings picture after last week’s disappointing numbers from JP Morgan. GFT is forecasting the FTSE 100 to open at 5,475, up 20 points from Friday’s close. For the technical analysts out there, 5,495 is [...]
Economic Diary January 17, 2010 WHILE US banks will be dominating the calendar across the Atlantic next week, in Britain it is definitely the economic releases that will be taking centre stage. Kicking off is the property website Rightmove’s January house asking price survey, released this morning. The survey shows a monthly rise of 0.4 per cent and a 4.1 [...]
Banks and miners lift FTSE but retail shares take a dive January 14, 2010 STRENGTH in miners helped Britain’s top share index to a 0.5 per cent rise by yesterday’s close after soaring output figures from Rio Tinto boosted the sector, but retailers fell on weak trading updates. The FTSE 100 ended 24.72 points higher at 5,498.20 after falling for two days, pressured by China’s decision to tighten banks’ [...]
Technology stocks boost Wall Street January 14, 2010 TECHNOLOGY shares drove Wall Street higher yesterday on bets ahead of Intel’s quarterly results that business spending will bolster profits in the sector. After the bell, Intel Corp, a Dow component and the world’s largest chipmaker, reported a quarterly profit that beat expectations. Its shares rose 2.5 per cent ahead of the results. Intel results [...]
Take the plunge, don’t be afraid January 14, 2010 SITTING in a leather armchair in the atrium just below his office in Chancery Lane, Grant Challis is musing on the last two years. In that time he has gone from working for a listed investment bank to starting up his own firm, Frostrow Capital: “The scary part is taking the plunge, the reality is [...]
Know the perils of poaching January 14, 2010 ANYBODY working in a client-facing business and thinking of starting their own firm has to be aware of the legal tangle surrounding “poaching” your former clients. What is allowed all hinges on the contract you signed with your former employer. If you have a contract with “restrictive covenants” then you need to tread carefully. A [...]
Q&A January 14, 2010 Q. I am running a small start-up business and I need to find an office. I want something that is value for money but also looks good for our clients. Can you give me some tips? A. When cost is a factor you must consider all of the other charges involved in the upkeep of [...]
Sell-off in bank and mining shares rocks the FTSE 100 January 13, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index shed 0.5 per cent yesterday as weakness in commodity and banking issues countered gains in selected defensive stocks, reflecting fading risk appetite among some investors. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 25.23 points lower at 5,473.48, having lost 0.7 per cent on Tuesday following China’s decision to tighten banks’ reserve [...]
Financial bonanza hopes boost Dow January 13, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as investors bet on recently weakened technology and financial shares ahead of earnings from bellwethers Intel and JPMorgan Chase & Co, taking the Dow industrials to a fresh 15-month high. A brokerage upgrade of drugmaker Merck & Co and an upbeat outlook from Kraft Foods gave an extra boost to the [...]