World shares lift despite dip in Asia January 16, 2012 EUROPEAN shares and the euro gradually recovered yesterday from early losses triggered by the mass downgrade of Euro zone sovereign ratings last week, but they still looked vulnerable amid rising fears of a disorderly Greek debt default. Markets had already reacted to the downgrades on Friday, and European assets steadied by yesterday afternoon, but activity [...]
Powering your trading ambition January 16, 2012 AS MORE and more providers hone their mobile trading apps, you can almost trade from anywhere. But if you are serious about your trading then you will probably want a dedicated computer. But what features are important and what do you get for your money? Generally speaking, you will get faster processing, the ability to [...]
GOLD REMAINS A PRECIOUS COMPONENT OF A PORTFOLIO January 16, 2012 Ionce heard an analyst say that gold should be viewed as an insurance policy, not as an investment. That’s good advice for anyone who is contemplating a position in the yellow metal in 2012. Gold has very little industrial use and yields no return, so its investment credentials are dubious. However, throughout history gold has [...]
THE TIPSTER January 16, 2012 WHEN Rio Tinto becomes the first of the big miners to update the market this year with its full-year report, there will be plenty of informative nuggets for investors to dig through in the update. The memory of Alcoa’s update and bullish forecast last week is still fresh in everyone’s mind. Traders will be hoping [...]
Analyst picks for 17 January 2012 January 16, 2012 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short sterling-dollar, long euro-Swiss Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week The Eurozone’s financial troubles have deepened heading into the new year, and we will feel the repercussions. However, euro-dollar is already exceptionally downtrodden. The spillover hasn’t fully happened for the [...]
AAA-ratings are ready to go the way of the dodo January 16, 2012 THE downgrades of France and Austria on Friday followed by yesterday’s walloping of the European Financial Support Facility (EFSF) may have been widely anticipated, but that does not mean that they are irrelevant. After all, analysts have predicted the timings of seven of the last three sovereign downgrades. But more than anything this latest move [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD January 15, 2012 US STOCK investors will return to a tug of war between signs of domestic strength and overseas concerns this week as a batch of critical earnings reports look to add credence to the idea the economy is improving, while credit rating downgrades in Europe will keep that region’s difficulties in view. Bank stocks will probably [...]
Helping new businesses to cut away useless fat January 15, 2012 Q. WHAT ARE THE KEY TENETS OF THE LEAN STARTUP? A. The word “lean” comes from lean manufacturing, the system of management that has its origins in Japan with the Toyota Production System. The Lean Startup applies these principles to the process of innovation. Unlike the traditional approach to new product development, The Lean Startup [...]
FAITH IN NEW BUSINESS HAS GONE ABROAD January 15, 2012 IN A worrying sign, UK based entrepreneurs have signalled their lack of confidence in Britain, whereas entrepreneurs worldwide have more confidence in their local economies. This was one of the key messages found in the most recent edition of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Global Entrepreneur Indicator, which was conducted in November last year. Twice a [...]
A wake-up call for entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom January 15, 2012 A SIMPLE formula exists for writing about entrepreneurs: humble beginnings + fighting against the odds + eventual success = inspiring story. The fairytale profile certainly has its place, but entrepreneurship is a subject that deserves a bit more rigour. After all, it’s entrepreneurs that help create the future for the rest of us. The significance [...]
