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 [...]
HOW HURDLES CAN SAVE THE BONUS September 15, 2009 DAVID MARDLEHEAD OF EUROPEAN VENTURE CAPITAL, TAYLOR WESSING THE City’s “bonus culture” has come in for criticism since the onset of the credit crunch. Traditional models of share-based remuneration, while encouraging long-term growth, have lost much of their appeal in an era of shrinking corporate valuations. But skilled people still need to be paid well. [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 15, 2009 The FTSE 100 rose for a third straight session yesterday to close up by 0.5 per cent, boosted by bullish economic data from the US, as oils, miners and banks underpinned the rally. The index ended 23.28 points higher at 5,042.13, after trading as low as 4,996.52 earlier in the session. Energy stocks were higher, [...]
NEW YORK REPORT September 15, 2009 STOCKS rose yesterday to 2009 highs after stronger manufacturing and retail sales data boosted commodity prices and shares of materials companies.Yesterday’s gains lifted the S&P 500 above 1,050 for the first time since early October. The improvement in retail sales in August reassured investors about a rebound in US economic demand. A rise in the [...]
Better outlook for banks one year after Lehman September 14, 2009 WHEN Lehman Brothers collapsed a year ago, it seemed that the world would never be the same. Global markets wobbled and once giant investment banks were crippled as sub-prime mortgages and credit default swaps unravelled and we braced ourselves for a worldwide recession. Wall Street had shrunk to less than a third of its pre-Lehman [...]
SILVER SHINE MATCHES GOLD’S GLEAM September 14, 2009 DAVID MORRISONCFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFTPLENTY has been written about gold’s recent advance and its break above the $1,000 mark. And if you are bullish on the yellow metal you may also want to look at silver. Until the late 1800s, the gold-silver price ratio was fairly constant at around 15 to 1 due to their [...]
FTSEputs in highest close in almost a year on bank gains September 14, 2009 THE UK benchmark share index closed up 0.2 per cent yesterday as buoyant banks and defensive stocks countered weak miners and oils, keeping the index above 5,000 amid optimism over the pace of the rally seen since March. The FTSE 100 closed up 7.38 points at 5,018.85, its highest closing level since late September 2008. [...]
USin further gains as M&Adeals rise September 14, 2009 US stocks rose yesterday as reports of more merger activity added to a string of recent deals, suggesting investors still see value in the market after its run up of more than 50 per cent since March. Optimism about potential deals overshadowed concerns about trade friction between the United States and China after Washington imposed [...]
Witching week to make a wary start September 13, 2009 With poetic timing, the FTSE finally did it. Almost a year to the day of the anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, the London blue-chip index closed above the 5,000 point barrier on Friday after a tour de force week in which the market stormed up 160 points. The week ahead however is likely to [...]