EMERGING MARKETS ARE GROWTH PLAY October 7, 2009 NIZAM HAMIDHEAD OF SALES STRATEGY, iSHARES EUROPE AS THE global economy begins the slow path to recovery, investors are starting to take a view on economic growth. Oddly, perhaps, emerging markets have been ahead of advanced economies in exiting recession. Over the first half of 2009, equity markets around the world have restored part of [...]
Insurers fail to lift the FTSE as investors await US results October 7, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading shares closed lower yesterday as falls in oil majors and food retailers offset gains in insurers as investors waited for the start of the earnings seasons in the US to give a fresh direction. The FTSE 100 closed down 29.08 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 5,108.90, after ending 2.3 per cent higher [...]
Banks and oil lead the markets lower October 7, 2009 EUROPEAN shares closed lower yesterday with banking and oil stocks leading the fallers, as investors booked profits ahead of the US third-quarter corporate results season. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.4 per cent at 988.76 points. The benchmark index is up 19 per cent this year and has surged 53 [...]
Hike in interest rates boosts prospects for Aussie dollar October 6, 2009 THE hike in rates to 3.25 per cent yesterday by the central bank of Australia should have come as little surprise to most market participants. Over the past couple of months, there have been growing indications, not least from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) itself, that a rise in the cost of borrowing was [...]
SFO signals move to US-style tactics October 6, 2009 WHEN the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said last week that it intends to seek the Attorney General’s consent to prosecute BAE, this signalled a significant change in its modus operandi. It has never in the past publicised to this extent its intended actions in an ongoing investigation. In 2008, at about the same time that [...]
MYNERS PLAN BREACHES EURO RIGHTS October 6, 2009 AMBER MELVILLE-BROWNMEDIA COUNSEL, WITHERS LLP TREASURY Minister Lord Myners recently proposed that companies ought to be forced to publicise senior executives’ salaries. The idea has won much publicity, but could it happen? Perhaps not – it could be unlawful and even trigger costly privacy battles in the courts. Lord Myners envisages that such disclosures would [...]
Adapt your trading to range-bound currencies October 6, 2009 FOREIGN exchange markets have been notorious over the past year for their rapid fluctuations and numerous driving forces, which can make holding a position in a currency pair a particularly nail-biting experience for any trader, whatever their level. But greater stability in the markets over recent months has seen a number of trends emerge in [...]
Hopes for earnings see Wall Street rise October 6, 2009 WALL Street stocks rose yesterday amid signs the global economy was recovering and optimism that corporate earnings reports will beat expectations. The economic optimism spurred gains in energy and other commodities, lifting shares of oil and resource companies. Shares of Exxon Mobil rose 1.6 per cent to $68.66 and were among the top gainers on [...]
EXPECT MORE WEAKNESS IN GREENBACK October 6, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT LAST week’s dismal US unemployment data was a depressing reminder to the currency market that the American economy, which at one time served as the locomotive for global growth, may now be the laggard of the industrialised world. While the recovery continues in the rest of the G20 universe [...]