US rises again as Google and IBM lift mood January 23, 2013 THE S&P 500 rose for a sixth day yesterday after stronger-than-expected profits from IBM and Google but the rally could be halted as Apple’s after-hours miss send its shares lower. The S&P was just 4.7 per cent from its all-time closing high as IBM’s and Google’s earnings, released after Tuesday’s close, followed on the heels [...]
CFA charter has won converts beyond investment analysis January 23, 2013 THE Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter is widely considered to be the professional credential of choice for the investment industry. Its course is designed to provide the full breadth of knowledge necessary to understand all the major investment products, alongside instruction in financial reporting, corporate governance and economics. All this is underpinned by a grounding [...]
Why the investment credential is moving fast to stay relevant January 23, 2013 THE Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme aims to produce individuals with a good understanding of the key techniques, major asset classes, and ethical and professional standards most needed in today’s investment industry. The course is made up of three progressive levels of study. Level I focuses primarily on testing investment tools, Level II on asset [...]
FTSE hits the brakes on 2013 rally as banks and miners lose ground January 22, 2013 BRITAIN’S leading share index eased a touch yesterday, stalling after a recent push up to its highest level in four-and-a-half years, weighed by falls in financials and mining stocks. Banks were the biggest sector fallers, knocking over four points off the FTSE 100, with traders citing profit-taking after recent gains, and caution over a report [...]
S&P 500 hits fresh five year closing high January 22, 2013 US bank and commodity shares led the Standard & Poor’s 500 to a fresh five-year closing high yesterday on hopes that the global economy continues to mend. The Dow Jones industrial average also ended at a five-year high. The market also gained on signals that Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives aim today [...]
The UK has lost its position as a genuine haven January 22, 2013 THE notion of the UK as a safe haven is unravelling. As more economic data filters through, and questions about the UK’s role within Europe continue to dominate headlines, the pound is set to come under intense pressure. On a trade-weighted basis, sterling has fallen in value by 20 per cent since the start of [...]
FTSE 100 soars to a 4 1/2-year high as investors take heart from the US January 21, 2013 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 scaled fresh 4-1/2 year peaks yesterday, with signs of progress in US budget talks encouraging investors’ shift from low-yielding government bonds into higher risk, higher return equities. US Republican leaders signalled they would allow the government to raise the debt ceiling and borrow to prevent a default in the next three months [...]
Investors sell off European luxury shares January 21, 2013 EUROPEAN shares rose yesterday, climbing back towards near two-year highs, as investors bought back into relatively “undervalued” sectors such as utilities and steel as they bet Europe’s economy will improve. A sell-off in luxury stocks capped gains, however, sparked by comments from Swiss watch maker Richemont about weak sales growth in China. Its shares lost [...]
Japan hopes to stimulate itself back to prosperity January 21, 2013 SINCE taking office in December, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been determined to throw everything he can at his economy to try to get it moving again. As well as a massive ¥10.3 trillion (£72bn) government stimulus package, the newly-installed Japanese government has fixed the strong yen in its sights, and has made [...]
Bank recovery is unlikely but true January 21, 2013 Chief Market Strategist, Cantor Index WHO would have thought that the banking sector would make such a spectacular recovery in 2012? And who expected it would do so in the wake of a breathtakingly toxic European sovereign debt crisis, which came to a crescendo when the European Central Bank president Mario Draghi made that immortal [...]
