US troubles will keep yen high August 2, 2011 THE next chapter in Japan’s economic disaster is being written. With US debt a concern, investors have been turning to the yen as an alternative “safe haven” currency. In response, the spectre of intervention has been raised again, but try as they might the authorities won’t buck the currency markets. The export-focused Japanese authorities want [...]
THE TIPSTER August 2, 2011 IN WHAT has been a year of choppy and volatile trading for many asset classes, there is one trend that has persisted throughout the uncertainty. Every month this year has seen fresh all time lows set by dollar-Swiss franc as investors continue to favour the Swissie as a safe haven. The dollar has declined by [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS August 2, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short euro-sterling and Kiwi dollar-dollar Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week It doesn’t surprise me that the medium-term setups I laid out for euro-dollar, Aussie dollar-dollar and dollar-yen last week didn’t gain traction. Market conditions are extremely volatile and [...]
FTSE has a rollercoaster day as US data undoes debt rally August 1, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index shed 0.7 per cent yesterday after a rollercoaster session, with early strong gains on relief over a debt deal in Washington wiped out later by weak ISM data which threw the spotlight back on a faltering US economy. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 40.76 points, or 0.7 [...]
Wall Street slides on manufacturing August 1, 2011 THE S&P 500 fell for a sixth day yesterday as time runs out for the government to pass a deal to avoid default and the economy showed further signs of stalling. The market pared losses late in the day before Congress was expected to vote on a debt deal backed by the White House, which [...]
Gold hasn’t hit the top as debt remains a risk August 1, 2011 PRESIDENT Obama’s deal on debt pushed gold off its record high, but it bounced back sharply. Now is not the time to sell, as over the foreseeable future the ongoing US and Eurozone debt crises will see it break new highs. BOUNCING BACK On Friday, gold hit a record high of $1,632.30/oz, but on Monday [...]
AMERICA MAY SAIL ON THE QE3 THIS FALL August 1, 2011 WE HAD a first look at UK and US second quarter GDP numbers last week. The US was a shocker, coming in at 1.3 per cent on expectations of 1.7 per cent. Worse than that, the first quarter of 2011 and the fourth quarter of last year were both revised down sharply. This means the [...]
Growth concerns and debt talks set to lower opening July 31, 2011 IT’S difficult to see any way but down for shares this morning. There’s always the potential for the US debt impasse to be overcome and an agreement on the debt ceiling to be reached any minute, but without that there is just too much uncertainty around. GFT quotes two-way prices on stock indices around the [...]
Banking on surprising the markets July 31, 2011 THIS week sees the release of interim figures from a number of UK banks, and few are holding out hope for particularly strong results. A generally weak UK economy that grew an anaemic 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, coupled with concerns about the risk of UK bank exposure to possible European default, have [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT July 31, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● It’s a busy week for results. Today, Hiscox, HSBC, Intertek and Ultra Electronics Holdings announce. ● Barclays, Capital Shopping Centres, Cookson, Drax, Fresnillo, GKN, Meggitt, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Rotork, Weir and Xstrata all announce tomorrow. ● Announcing on Wednesday are Capital & Counties Properties, Ferrexpo, Legal & General, Rexam, Rightmove, Standard [...]
