Mid-cap mania to dominate corporate news this week August 31, 2009 THIS week is shorter than usual due to the bank holiday and trading volumes are likely to remain low, but there are enough mid-cap firms reporting to keep life interesting. FTSE 250 biotechnology firm Dechra Pharmaceuticals kicks the week off with its final results, which are not expected to add very much to its pre-close [...]
USshares slide on China stock sell-off August 31, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday as concerns about the global economy’s health weighed on Wall Street following a sell-off in Chinese equities. Energy shares led the decline after the sharp drop in China’s main stock index, while oil slipped below $70 a barrel on increased worries about global energy demand. Shares of Chevron tumbled 1.1 percent [...]
Oils and miners bring FTSE higher, while banks also rise August 20, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading share index gained 1.4 per cent as stocks enjoyed a broad-based recovery yesterday, with heavyweight oils and miners in demand as raw material prices rose while financials also rallied. By the close, the FTSE 100 was 66.91 points higher at 4,756.58, having reversed earlier losses to close slightly higher on Wednesday. The UK [...]
Factory data gives boost to US stocks August 20, 2009 US stocks rose for a third straight session yesterday with financial stocks leading gains after US manufacturing data and a rebound in Chinese stocks reassured investors. The Dow and the S&P 500, which suffered their worst day in about seven weeks on Monday, got a lift from signs of improvement in US Mid-Atlantic manufacturing and [...]
Picking the right moment is the key to forex trading August 19, 2009 SINCE Monday we have learnt that Japan exited recession in the second quarter, that German investors are more confident in August than they were last month, that UK inflation still stands at 1.8 per cent, and that three members of the UK’s Monetary Policy Committee considered extending quantitative easing in this country to £200bn. Today [...]
CENTRAL BANK POLICIES ARE DIVERGING August 19, 2009 GEORGE TCHETVERTAKOVHEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI UK LOOKING at macroeconomic events over the past few weeks, it is becoming increasingly clear that central banks around the world are considering different monetary policy frameworks going forward. Over the past 18 months, many central banks were forced to follow similar policies of cutting interest rates as quickly [...]
Tightening spreads and QE make corporate bonds more attractive August 19, 2009 CORPORATE bond issuance so far this year smashed through the $1 trillion mark, the first time that this amount has been raised by non-financial corporates in a single year, figures from data provider Dealogic showed earlier this week. And while the European corporate bond market has typically been less developed than the American market, European [...]
Gold still strong, but don’t expect any record highs August 19, 2009 YOU must have seen the adverts on the television. Since the recession started to bite, smiley men and women have appeared on our screens telling us that we ought to send in any spare gold in an envelope, and we will receive a lovely fat cheque in the post. While the extra cash will no [...]
RELOADING ON RISK DURING THE AUTUMN August 19, 2009 BRIAN DOLANCHIEF CURRENCY STRATEGIST, FOREX.COM OVER the course of this summer my colleague Jane Foley and I have been consistently cautious on the extraordinary rebound in risk appetite and the accompanying rally in virtually every risky asset class (stocks, commodities and carry trades in forex). We argued that markets were overly optimistic about the prospects [...]
Iron condors help your profits soar August 19, 2009 CONDORS, tarantulas, butterflies. The world of options trading can sound more like the sort of thing that would attract David Attenborough than George Soros. Of all the animal-based tactics, one that is particularly popular in the current range-bound markets is the iron condor, which is a market neutral trade with limited risk. If you believe [...]