Corporate results worries sink stocks February 6, 2012 US stocks closed slightly lower yesterday as lingering questions about Europe’s debt crisis and corporate earnings overshadowed growing optimism about economic growth after a five-week rally. The S&P has risen about seven per cent so far this year, helped by a slew of better-than-expected US economic data, which was capped by Friday’s solid jobs report. [...]
Grey trading on the Facebook IPO price February 6, 2012 AS THE buzz continues about the Facebook public offering later this year, IG Markets is offering grey market trading on the social networking site’s market cap. The grey market allows shares to be traded on an unofficial market ahead of the IPO expected in May. When it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on [...]
A NEW THEME FOR THE EURO DESPITE AN AILING ATHENS February 6, 2012 ANOTHER week has passed by without a deal from Athens and the currency markets are clearly starting to suffer from headline fatigue. While the risks are quite serious, the markets continue to believe in an 11th hour deal – which is why the fallout in the euro has been relatively modest. Yet the longer the [...]
THE TIPSTER BELLWAY HOPING TO CHIME IN PROFITS February 6, 2012 INVESTORS in housing firm Bellway will be hoping that the company won’t be dropping any clangers tomorrow when it releases its latest trading update, but instead will be looking for signs that the future is still relatively appealing. The last update back in December 2011 was positively ringing with optimism, with the company noting that [...]
China’s fate tangled with Eurozone February 6, 2012 AS CHINA’S economic power grows, its authorities are increasingly willing to punch their weight on the international stage. The decision to direct Chinese airlines to ignore the European Union’s carbon-emissions system is a slap in the face. But can China really afford to be sanguine? The latest report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests [...]
Analyst picks for 7 February 2012 February 6, 2012 STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short S&P 500, long euro-Swissie, long dollar-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week The prevailing risk appetite run that has guided the markets since the beginning of the year ended last week with another thrust. There are a [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD February 5, 2012 EUROPE will again be at the centre of investors’ focus this week as the US earnings season passes the halfway mark and there is little on the economic calendar to give the market direction. Economic data expected this week includes weekly initial jobless claims, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index and international trade [...]
The five most useful things to know about Junior Isas February 5, 2012 JUNIOR Isas were launched in November 2011. Any child born before September 2002, who does not already have a Child Trust Fund (CTF), can be signed up, as well as all children born after 3 January 2011. The Junior Isa scheme supplants the CTF (though the government does not contribute to the new scheme), and [...]
NEWS IN BRIEF February 5, 2012 TAXED ON TIME According to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), this year saw a record 9.45m self assessment tax returns filed on time, with a record 7.65m filed online. This means that 90.4 per cent of taxpayers met the deadline – an increase of 4 per cent on last year and the highest on-time filing [...]
From the UK to Silicon Valley and back again February 5, 2012 GLOBALISATION throws up some interesting associations. The western world’s need to stay awake supports the coffee industries of Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa; the desires of Japanese, Indians and Chinese consumers to imbibe is helping the UK’s Scotch whisky industry flourish. No less interesting is the case of WANdisco – a tech company that [...]
