FTSE flat as poor corporate results overshadow positive news on GDP October 25, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index was fractionally higher yesterday as gains by banks on strong UK GDP figures were countered by some mixed corporate earnings. Banks added 0.8 per cent on news that Britain pulled out of recession in the third quarter, with its strongest quarterly economic growth in five years, boosting expectations that lending conditions [...]
Weak results sour views of US economy October 24, 2012 US stocks ended lower for a second day yesterday as investors soured on another round of underwhelming corporate results and the Federal Reserve said it would stick to its stimulus plan until the job market improves. The S&P 500 has lost 3.6 per cent over the past five sessions, hurt by weak earnings outlooks and [...]
FTSE edges higher as strong results from Reckitt boost investors’ mood October 24, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday, helped by consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser’s robust update, although traders said concerns over earnings would limit further moves higher. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.1 per cent, or 6.87 points higher, at 5,804.78 points, recovering slightly from a 1.4 per cent fall on Tuesday. Heavyweight [...]
Seven easy steps to smoothly renegotiate your pay deal October 24, 2012 THE big issue that few of us feel comfortable discussing with our employers is pay. Yet research has repeatedly shown that unhappiness with what we earn is a significant cause of job dissatisfaction. How do you work out what you’re worth and then make sure your company pays you accordingly? Doing some research, thinking tactically, [...]
Fresh plunge on Wall Street on grim results October 23, 2012 US stocks fell yesterday, driving the Dow industrials to the biggest drop since 21 June, as weak results from index members DuPont and United Technologies showed profit growth is slowing. This earnings season has so far produced a string of disappointments from companies falling short of Wall Street’s expectations. With results in from 29 per [...]
Further earnings gloom sends the FTSE to its biggest drop in a month October 23, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index fell for a third session yestrday, weighed down by concerns over weak earnings and the Eurozone crisis after a failed attempt last week to break through technical resistance levels. The blue-chip FTSE 100 posted its biggest one-day drop in nearly a month, bringing the index to its lowest levels in a [...]
The Fed has created golden opportunities October 23, 2012 MONETARY expansion has inadvertently given commodity prices a huge boost – but should traders focus on the spot commodity or gold mining equities? With the creation of QE Infinity – the open-ended quantitative easing programme unveiled last month by the US Federal Reserve – traditional monetary policy is now nothing but a speck on the [...]
Euro-dollar moving averages suggest a strengthening of the single currency October 23, 2012 ACCORDING to patterns of euro-dollar trend dynamics, the currency pair may be ripe for an upside breakout. For the third consecutive week, euro-dollar has pushed further above its 50-week moving average (WMA). Moving averages are used to define price direction by smoothing out price data with a slight lag. The longer the moving average, the [...]
Sterling trend may continue to be a friend October 23, 2012 IT HAS been difficult to accurately gauge the performance of the UK economy recently. The Olympics, Diamond Jubilee, and even the weather, have distorted the picture. In the last month, we have had positive government borrowing figures, excellent retail data, equally impressive employment data and have seen inflation fall to three year lows. However, construction, industrial [...]
