SUSTAINABLE BANKING IS WAY FORWARD June 17, 2009 MOORAD CHOUDRYHEAD OF TREASURY, EUROPE ARAB BANK THE financial crash of 2007-2008 was caused by the interaction of several different factors, some of which had been building for years. Since then markets have entered a period of restructuring that reflects the realities of the crash: key to this is an awareness that much of the [...]
CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS June 17, 2009 Yesterday, President Obama announced a plan to overhaul US financial regulation in response to a banking and capital markets crisis. As part of the proposal, oversight of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives would be imposed, and there would be harmonisation of futures and securities regulation. New payment and settlement system safeguards would be created. The financial crisis [...]
Eurozone banks will prove the downfall of the single currency June 16, 2009 AFTER months of Europe scoffing at the troubles of the Anglo-Saxon banking system, it appears likely that many Eurozone banks have plenty of skeletons in their own closets. The European Central Bank (ECB) said earlier this week in its Financial Stability Review that it estimated Eurozone bank writedowns due to securities – or toxic assets [...]
COMMODITY CURRENCIES SLOW DOWN June 16, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT ONE of the best trades in the FX market in the past three months has been to go long on the Commonwealth currencies of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These were the biggest beneficiaries of the recovery trade as global demand picked up. Spurred by China’s seemingly insatiable demand [...]
Economy fears hit oil, miners and banks but defensives fly June 16, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 0.1 per cent higher yesterday, recovering only a small part of Monday’s sharp falls as strength in defensive stocks was countered by falls in oils, miners, and banks. At the close the FTSE 100 was up 2.56 points at 4,328.57, rallying slightly after hitting a six-week closing low on Monday when [...]
US falls on gloomy stats and Best Buy June 16, 2009 US stocks slipped yesterday as mixed economic data and disappointing sales figures from giant electronics retailer Best Buy spurred worries about an anemic recovery. After a three-month run that lifted the S&P 500 as much as 40 per cent from 12-year lows, analysts said the economy needs to start showing real improvement to support optimism [...]
WHY LIBEL TOURISM IS A BIG WORRY June 16, 2009 MAX COLEMEDIA LAWYER, MISHCON DE REYA SOLICITORS THE practice of libel shopping has been coming under scrutiny recently. Libel tourism is a type of forum shopping, the practice of finding the foreign jurisdiction which is most friendly to the claim, and the courts in this country are an appealing destination if you are a foreigner [...]
OIL MARKET WILL MOVE SHARPLY ON INVENTORY DATA June 15, 2009 MARTIN SLANEYHEAD OF DERIVATIVES, GFT OIL, glorious oil. It is undoubtedly one of the most popular CFD markets around and it continues to enjoy a steep growth in popularity among traders. The popular Brent and WTI are unavoidably topical and irresistibly volatile. After sinking to near $30 a barrel at the end of 2008, the [...]
Metals lose their shine and oil slips on the strong dollar June 15, 2009 LOWER commodities stocks and the firm dollar took the FTSE 100 lower yesterday, losing 2.6 per cent, or 115.94 points, to close at 4,326.01. Volumes were about 76 per cent of its 90-day average daily volume, but the index has risen 25 percent since hitting a six-year low on 9 March. “The fundamentals of the [...]
Wall Street hit by poor factory data June 15, 2009 US STOCKS tumbled yesterday, marking their worst slide in a month after regional manufacturing data dented optimism about the economy’s health and resource shares fell alongside commodity prices. After a series of signs the economy may be stabilising, investors are looking for more definitive signals of its improving health. Analysts also said a pullback was [...]