Mood of markets is upbeat September 20, 2009 Although it’s widely expected that US interest rates will be kept on hold in the 0 per cent to 0.25 per cent range once more in the announcement from the Federal Open Market Committee scheduled at 19:15 London time on Wednesday, talk is picking up that the Fed will start tightening monetary policy sooner than [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 17, 2009 BANKING and energy stocks fuelled a 0.8 per cent gain for the FTSE 100 by close yesterday, up for a fifth straight day, as sentiment on the outlook for the global economy improved further. Britain’s blue chip index closed up 39.82 points at 5,163.95, its highest close since late September last year, having added 1.6 [...]
NEW YORK REPORT September 17, 2009 US stocks slipped yesterday after a three-day runup on concern recent gains were overextended despite the latest round of solid economic data. Analysts said investors were trying to assess whether further market gains were justified, with the benchmark S&P 500 now up 58 per cent since its early March lows. Shares of financials, energy and [...]
Rewriting the recruitment rule book September 16, 2009 IF recessions tend to spur innovation and clear the way for the groundbreakers, Paul Marsden is hoping he can be this recession’s innovator in the recruitment sector, an industry that made him a multi-millionaire on the eve of the downturn. In 2007, at the height of the market, Marsden sold the boutique financial services recruiter [...]
Markets in Emerging Asia showing Eastern promise for UK investors September 16, 2009 EMERGING markets will, so the optimistic growth story goes, lead the rest of the world out of recession. They sprang back from the Asian crisis of 2007-8, the dot com crash of 2001 and are now, if quarterly GDP data and stock market indices are anything to go by, doing the same again. Asian tigers [...]
GOLD GREAT FOR BULLS AND BEARS September 16, 2009 ALEXANDRE HOUPERTHEAD OF LISTED PRODUCTS UK, SG CORPORATE & INVESTMENT BANKING SINCE the start of September, gold has risen in price from $935 per ounce to around $1,020 yesterday, an increase of 9 per cent. Gold’s popularity has seen a resurgence during the crisis thanks to it being seen as a safe haven. This could [...]
Bankers and miners lead the way past the 5,100 mark September 16, 2009 The FTSE 100 hit its highest closing level in a year yesterday, led by banks and miners and spurred by appetite for risky assets as optimism about the pace of global economic recovery intensified. The index closed up 82 points, or 1.6 per cent higher, at 5,124.13 – the highest close since late September last [...]
Wall Street rises on economic data September 16, 2009 US stocks rose for a third day yesterday, hitting fresh 2009 highs in a broad-based rally following economic data that suggested a stronger-than-anticipated global recovery. Energy and manufacturing companies were among the strongest, benefiting from data indicating improved industrial demand and a falling dollar, which makes American exports more competitive in world markets. Shares of [...]
British policymakers sending sterling lower September 15, 2009 IT WAS all go on the City’s currency trading floors yesterday morning. What sparked the furious trading was Bank of England governor Mervyn King hinting to the Parliamentary Treasury Select Committee that the Bank would implement a cut in the interest rate that banks receive on their deposits with the Bank of England. Immediately, the [...]
CARRY TRADE NOW FUNDED BY DOLLARS September 15, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT One of the more curious developments over the past month has been the appreciation of the Japanese yen along with high-beta risk currencies such as the euro, the pound and the Australian dollar. Since the start of this decade, the dynamic that dominated currency trading saw the yen decline [...]