Clever traders are looking to the future and the recovery
THE PAST year will be remembered as a turbulent one for the global markets, beginning with the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the nationalisation of banks, and volatility hitting record highs. Many investors were so unclear about the state of the economy that they held on to their money. However, with the FTSE over 5,000 and the Dow Jones breaking through 10,000 following massive profits recently announced by the big investment banks, confidence is returning to the markets. It is the right time to start wondering where you should put your money.
Almost all areas of financial life showed unprecedented volatility. Having reached an all-time high of $147 per barrel last July, the price of crude oil slumped to $35 and has now returned to around the $75 level. As investors looked for a safe haven from the turmoil they bought gold, and are still doing so, sending its price to a record high of $1,072 per ounce last week. Such is gold’s popularity that Harrods is now selling bars of it over the counter. As Russ Mould points out on page 17, other metals such as copper have also seen massive increases this year.
Interest rates reached all-time lows and central banks also unleashed a massive quantitative easing programme whose effects are still uncertain: Australia recently tightened its fiscal policy, and investors are watching to see if and when other central banks will follow.
As confidence returns to some sectors, there is talk of an M&A boom, and canny traders are looking to see which sectors and companies are ripe for action. Other investors are now looking to pick up cheap equities that haven’t yet felt the benefit of the positivity that is returning to the market.
As David Jones says on page 18, as they moved away from equities, investors looked to foreign exchange. Some currency pairs have shown unprecedented movements, which has meant profit for those who have been able to predict them.
All of that means that it is an ideal moment for The World MoneyShow to come to London, where all of these issues, and far more, will be addressed.
Benefit from traders’ insights into how best to use spread betting, CFDs and foreign exchange in the panel discussions. And broaden your trading horizons with seminars and presentations on futures trading, how to time your trades appropriately and how to get ahead of the market.
There’s even the opportunity to watch professionals trade live in the markets in front of an audience.
Whether it is learning about forex, spread betting, green technology investment or stocks, as the global economy recovers, you should do everything that you can to make sure you are in the right place to benefit.
The World MoneyShow is being held on 30-31 October at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster. Events are occurring between 9am and 6.30pm.