ASK THE GURUS September 29, 2010 Negotiating can be tricky. Sometimes the nuclear option seems like the only weapon left, and Michael Geoghegan was recently reported by some to have threatened to leave HSBC unless he was made chief executive (something that the bank denies), though he didn’t get the job and is now leaving. But might threats be the way [...]
Mining lifts FTSE while banks drag September 28, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed slightly higher yesterday as stronger mining stocks offset falls from banks still dogged by investor concerns over sovereign debt. The FTSE 100 closed 5.02 points, or 0.1 per cent, higher at 5,578.44 in skittish trading, with the index having dipped as low as 5,506.07. Miners were in demand, boosted by [...]
Latecomers run to join stock rally September 28, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as latecomers jumped onto the September bandwagon, buying up sectors that have outperformed during the month. The S&P 500 has risen 9.4 per cent so far in September, historically the worst month for stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 46.10 points, or 0.43 per cent, to end at 10,858.14. The [...]
Brazil’s central banker denies a currency war September 28, 2010 BRAZIL’S central bank president Henrique Meirelles yesterday warned that there is a serious problem of competitive currency devaluation among central banks but refused to join the Brazilian finance minister Guido Mantega in saying that an international currency war had broken out. Speaking to journalists at the Brazilian ambassador’s Mayfair residence, Meirelles said countries should not [...]
EURO-DOLLAR TRADE IS AN UGLY CONTEST September 28, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT LET’S just retrace Tuesday’s euro-dollar price movements. First, the pair rallied in early Asian trade when a Wall Street Journal article reported that the Fed is considering a quasi-permanent QE policy, raising fears that the central bank will eventually monetise more than a trillion worth of US debt. Then, before [...]
Yen to stay still despite Japan’s FX intervention September 28, 2010 EXPECTATIONS of further Japanese stimulus are high. Many believe that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will decide to pump $55bn into the flagging economy next week. Those looking to the Bank’s meeting for a shake up in the dollar and euro against the yen are likely to be left wanting. Firstly, traders should not be [...]
THE TIPSTER September 28, 2010 THERE has been a slew of good news for sterling: the UK’s second quarter GDP growth rate posted a nine-year-high and retail sales figures have bounded higher too. The pound could finally be back in reach of the big $1.6000 level, which hasn’t been seen sensibly since January. The current IG Index price on cable [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS September 28, 2010 FOREX STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Buy dollar-Swiss franc at SFr0.9885 Expertise: Classic technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 week-6 months Setbacks have finally stalled out ahead of the critical record lows from 2008 by SFr0.9645, with the market finding a bottom in the SFr0.9700s ahead of the latest minor bounce. Short-term and [...]
The African consumer will drive growth beyond mining September 28, 2010 THE time of Africa is coming,” says Renaissance Asset Managers’ Plamen Monovski. His firm has just launched two new equity funds that give access to African stocks (one pan-African, one sub-Saharan) and to say he is bullish on the continent would be an understatement. He argues that with stock so cheap and foreign direct investment [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS September 28, 2010 PICTET LAUNCHES LONG-SHORT ASIA FUND Pictet funds, the fund distribution arm of private Swiss bank Pictet & Cie, has launched a long-short UCITS III-compliant Asia fund. It will be managed be Lan Wang Simond and seeks to capture Chinese growth while minimising losses during periods of high volatility and reducing correlation to the broader market. [...]
