FTSE hits a high but sale of Barclays shares prompts dip October 20, 2009 Britain’s top shares fell 0.7 percent yesterday, led down by banks after Qatar sold shares in Barclays while weaker-than-expected US data added to the negative sentiment. The benchmark FTSE 100 closed down 38.14 points at 5,243.40, having hit a fresh high for the year at 5,298.54 earlier in the session. Barclays fell 4.8 per cent [...]
US housing results bring down stocks October 20, 2009 US stocks retreated from 12-month highs yesterday as disappointing housing and inflation data prompted investors to book recent gains despite strong results from bellwethers including Apple and Caterpillar. New construction of US homes rose less than expected in September and US producer prices posted an unexpected decline, both pointing to an anemic economic recovery. DuPont [...]
A new world of Tesco-style law for all October 20, 2009 SIX artfully stacked cans of baked beans adorn the desk of the Legal Services Board’s first chairman David Edmonds. This isn’t some clever executive desk toy nor is it evidence of a limited culinary imagination. Instead it’s a playful reference to “Tesco Law”, the shorthand for the ongoing liberalisation of the legal profession under the [...]
MANAGING THE NEW BONUS RULES October 20, 2009 PETER TALIBARTPARTNER AT NORTON ROSE LLP The announcement last week that major investment banks will join the big five British banks in agreeing to adhere to the remuneration principles set out by the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh last month is a significant coup for the broker of the deal, Lord Myners, and the Treasury. The [...]
Clever traders are looking to the future and the recovery October 20, 2009 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 [...]
THE WORLD MONEYSHOW LONDON HIGHLIGHTS October 20, 2009 FRIDAY8.00 am – 6.30 pm Registration Desk Open9.05 am – 12.15 pm Opening Ceremonies12.15 pm – 6.30 pm Exhibition Hall Hours1.30 pm – 3.15 pm Product Presentations4.30 pm – 5.30 pm Panel Discussions5.30 pm – 6.30 pm Drinks Reception & Prize Draws in Exhibition Hall SATURDAY8.30 am – 6.30 [...]
Whatever your view on the market there are tools to take advantage October 19, 2009 RECESSION or recovery? Deflation or inflation? New bull market or dead-cat bounce? These are the issues which have dominated investors’ attention throughout the first nine months of the year. Equities have plunged and rallied, yields on government bonds have blown out and contracted sharply, while commodity prices have soared and sterling and the dollar have [...]
Pick the right defensive firm to protect your stock portfolio October 19, 2009 DESPITE analysts’ continued calls for a much-needed pullback in global equity markets, the FTSE 100 has stubbornly risen to the 5,200 mark. And if you believe that equities are due a correction, then you might want to bulk up your portfolio with a few defensive stocks as they tend to remain relatively stable, even in [...]
Take a punt and profit from M&A recovery October 19, 2009 FOLLOWING a dearth of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the wake of the financial crisis, returning confidence and cash to credit-constrained companies has seen a flurry of deals and bids over the past month. Yesterday, Stagecoach made a fresh all-share offer for its beleaguered rival National Express despite a consortium walking away from takeover [...]
EMOTION IS DRIVING DOW ABOVE 10,000 October 19, 2009 MARTIN SLANEYHEAD OF DERIVATIVES, GFT AFTER all the build-up, the Dow finally did it. For the first time in a year, America’s most famous market climbed back above 10,000. This apparently momentous occasion generated much attention and in last week’s column I suspected that the raft of blue chip results would lend enough momentum for [...]
