THE TIPSTER December 21, 2009 MARKET liquidity is really thin this week and next due to the Christmas holidays, which means that you need to be aware of pockets of volatility. During this time of year you need to stick to the larger FTSE 100 equities that benefit from strong liquidity. Keep nice tight spreads or range trade the FTSE [...]
Taking a punt on industrial strife can be a winner December 20, 2009 THE High Court may have helped restore Christmas cheer for passengers of British Airways by ruling that the proposed 12-day strike by the airline’s cabin crew was invalid, but investors should arm themselves with trading strategies for a 2010 that could be rife with industrial action. But the dispute is far from over. After the [...]
Brazil’s stock index is well worth a bet December 20, 2009 SPEAK to any strategist at any investment bank and you will hear the common refrain that emerging markets will drive the global economy in 2010. While this is undoubtedly true, there is a tendency to blindly associate emerging markets with Asia – and China in particular. Spread betters should make sure they consider the whole [...]
EURO STATES’ STRIFE ADDS TO VOLATILITY December 20, 2009 JANE FOLEY RESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM DURING 2009, the main story in the currency markets has been the decline of the dollar, dictating the movements of many dollar pairs. Euro-US dollar was driven almost exclusively by dollar fundamentals while issues this side of the Atlantic remained decidedly less relevant. But over the past couple of weeks, [...]
THE TIPSTER December 20, 2009 THE markets may have traded sideways for most of December but expect some volatility over the next couple of weeks. During the period between Christmas and New Year the markets can often move higher, which could benefit the FTSE 100. Capital Spreads offers a price of 5,245-5,246. The announcement of a new chief executive at [...]
Positive start to the week but a short trading session means no Santa Claus rally for markets December 20, 2009 Stocks are expected to start the week higher this morning, reversing a late dip on Friday when a late surge in the US dollar took its toll on mining stocks. GFT is forecasting the benchmark FTSE 100 index to open at 5,221, up 25 points from Friday’s close. The German DAX is called to open [...]
ECONOMIC DIARY December 20, 2009 IN a quiet and short week, the big news on the agenda will be the revisions – if any – to third quarter GDP figures for the UK and the US on Tuesday. The UK third quarter data will be released on Tuesday at 9.30am. Despite an upward revision to -0.4 per cent from -0.6 [...]
US shares sink as dollar jumps higher December 17, 2009 AMERICAN stocks fell yesterday as the dollar’s rebound spurred a safe-haven trade, cutting demand for riskier assets, while a soft profit outlook from economic bellwether FedEx sank transportation shares. Financial services stocks took a beating after influential banking analyst Meredith Whitney cut her earnings estimates on Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The US dollar index, [...]
Bank jitters and commodity weakness hits London stocks December 17, 2009 Jitters in the financial sector prompted by tough new proposed regulations sent banks sliding yesterday while commodity stocks also retreated on weaker raw material prices, pulling the FTSE 100 down 1.9 per cent by close. The FTSE 100 closed down 102.65 points at 5,217.61, having closed 34.49 points, or 0.7 per cent, higher on Wednesday [...]
Where the smart money should be heading next year December 16, 2009 AT THE start of 2009, there was a very real chance that we would enter another Great Depression and the banking system was still on its knees. But the past 12 months have been an astonishing year in the markets – stock market indices have risen sharply beyond all expectations and major countries returned to [...]