BONUS GRAB WILL FACE LEGAL TEST October 27, 2009 PAUL LAMBDINEMPLOYMENT PARTNER AT STEVENS & BOLTON LLP THERE is growing anger in the City at the shadow chancellor’s suggestion that bonuses for this year should be limited to £2,000 in cash, with anything more paid in shares. This proposal is only possible because City bonuses are generally based upon the “discretion” of the employer. [...]
Real’s rise cannot be stopped by inflows tax October 27, 2009 SINCE 2007, we have been repeatedly told that the US dollar needs to weaken in order to rectify the global imbalances that were, at least partially, to blame for the economic downturn. But not everybody has welcomed the greenback’s recent decline. European officials have already been making noises about how the strength of the euro [...]
THE TIPSTER October 27, 2009 NORWAY’S Norges Bank has been widely tipped as the next central bank to raise interest rates thanks to rising inflation rates in the Scandinavian oil producer. Norges Bank’s decision is due at 1pm UK time on Wednesday. FX traders should look at going long on Norwegian krone-Japanese yen as the yen is expected to suffer [...]
Energy stocks keep the FTSE warm despite banking falls October 27, 2009 THE FTSE 100 gained 0.2 per cent yesterday, keeping level after a rally from heavyweight energy issues offset weakness in banks and mining stocks. The index closed 9.23 points higher at 5,200.97, after ending 1 per cent lower on Monday. The blue-chip index has gained about 51 per cent since hitting a six-year low in [...]
Profit taking hits Wall St after rally October 27, 2009 THE S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell yesterday as investors booked profits following the stock market’s recent run-up, while a weaker-than-expected reading on a measure of consumer confidence raised doubts about spending. Technology and consumer discretionary shares fared worse than the broader market as investors sold recent winners. Baidu’s disappointing outlook added to the negative [...]
EURO HAS HIT ITS TOP, FOR NOW AT LEAST October 27, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT LAST week, after dramatic moves and countermoves in the currency market, the euro-US dollar pair finally broke through the critical 1.50 barrier. Business media ran a series of stories about the collapse of the dollar and everyone prepared for further declines. Yet despite all the hand-wringing, the dollar remained [...]
BE WARY OF PROVISIONAL GDP FIGURES October 26, 2009 MARTIN SLANEYHEAD OF DERIVATIVES, GFT FRIDAY’S shock drop in UK gross domestic product data – and the ensuing market reactions – have left many traders confounded. How can it be that we have a dramatically worse-than-predicted number and yet the FTSE 100 index appears virtually impervious? The third quarter GDP data showed that output fell [...]
There’s no reason to be afraid of leverage October 26, 2009 LEVERAGE is often seen as a trader’s best friend but just last week, the Japanese Financial Services Agency announced a public consultation on proposals to limit leverage on contracts for difference (CFDs). The regulator has suggested that leverage would be limited to five times for shares, 10 times for equity indices and 50 times for [...]
Weak banks and miners pull FTSEdown by one per cent October 26, 2009 THE FTSE 100 share index ended 1 per cent lower yesterday, with mining and energy stocks suffering as the US dollar rose and commodity prices fell, while a sharp decline in ING put pressure on financials. The index ended down 50.83 points at 5,191.74, having risen as high as 5,281.12 earlier in the session. It [...]
Home builder fears drag on Wall Street October 26, 2009 US stocks fell for a second straight session last night as investors ditched home builders and financials on fears that a federal home buyer tax credit might be phased out, while commodity shares succumbed to pressure from the higher US dollar. Trading was choppy. Stocks initially started on firmer footing, with indexes up more than [...]
