FTSE falls as economic woes hit banks and commoditiesTHE LONDON REPORT August 18, 2010 Banks and commodity stocks pushed Britain’s top shares lower yesterday, with worries over the global economic recovery knocking sentiment and weak volumes exacerbating stock moves as the FTSE 100 remained range-bound. The FTSE 100 closed down 47.68 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 5,302.87 after ending 1.4 per cent higher on Tuesday at 5,350.55 for [...]
Consumer stocks lift relieved Wall St August 18, 2010 WALL Street rose yesterday, led by gains in consumer stocks after a sales forecast from discounter Target temporarily quelled concerns about consumer demand. Shares of Target rose 2.5 per cent to $51.95 after the company said it expects same-store sales to increase one per cent to three per cent in the third quarter and be [...]
It’s time to reject the Van Gogh fallacy August 18, 2010 HOW far should your boss mess with your mind? Or to put it another way, is your mental health your employer’s business? First up, let’s have some numbers. Estimates of how many of the British workforce suffer mental health problems a year vary from one in three to one in six – probably it depends [...]
Don’t be taken for a fool by a gold guarantee August 18, 2010 INVESTORS with money in physical gold exchange-traded products (ETP) might have had a scare this week as gold-backed ETPs came under heavy fire in a paper by Hinde Capital, a hedge fund. The hedge fund compared precious metal exchange-traded funds (ETF) to the collateralised debt obligations (CDO) at the heart of the financial crisis and [...]
Cut your exposure to cyclical stocks August 18, 2010 IT IS a rare thing that Americans look at Europe with envy. But in recent weeks, more than a few policymakers stateside have been turning a rather violent shade of green. Over the course of the summer, US economic data has been weakening, while Europe is seeing something of a revival as worries about stress [...]
THE TIPSTER August 18, 2010 TODAY’S interim results from Cineworld will be essential viewing with the cinema chain set to post a decent performance helped by good revenues from popular 3D films, including Avatar and Toy Story 3. In spite of the negative impact of the World Cup, which kept people away from the big screen, along with the spell [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS August 18, 2010 ETF LANDSCAPE IS STILL GROWING The latest ETF landscape survey from iShares, the ETF provider, has found that the industry continued to grow throughout July. At the end of July, the global ETF industry had 2,282 ETFs with assets of just over $1,095bn, from 124 providers listed on 42 exchanges across the world. Europe has [...]
Banks and miners push FTSE to its highest close in a week August 17, 2010 FINANCIAL stocks and commodity companies pushed Britain’s top share index up for a third session by the close on Tuesday, as fears about a global economic slowdown abated and raw material prices gained. The FTSE 100 ended up 74.45 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 5,350.55, its highest close in a week. Miners were firmer, [...]
US results season ends on a high note August 17, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday after earnings from Wal-Mart and Home Depot and a $39bn takeover bid in the agriculture sector bolstered confidence in the corporate outlook. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 103.84 points, or 1.01 per cent, at 10,405.85. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 13.16 points, or 1.22 per cent, [...]
Investors should look East if they want strong yields August 17, 2010 FIXED income is at a cross roads. While yields on G3 government bonds continue to fall to record lows, investors are left in a quandary: put up with low yields because these are the “safest” bonds in the world, or sell their stakes and move into the higher-yielding debt of emerging markets. Since the onset [...]
