Central bank slows rocky rouble’s rally November 17, 2009 WHILE its Bric counterparts of Brazil, India and China have been relatively unaffected by the global downturn, the Russian economy has suffered more than most. With approximately 60 per cent of its exports dependent on oil, a slump in the crude price during the second half of 2008 proved disastrous. But a recovering oil price [...]
Hedge to smooth out the peaks and troughs September 29, 2009 COMPANIES with large foreign currency purchasing exposures are increasingly turning to hedging to protect themselves, using derivative financial instruments such as futures and options. Sterling weakness means currency management has become a necessity for those who buy materials from overseas. Take soft drinks maker AG Barr, for example, which reported strong results on Tuesday. The [...]
Hedge to smooth out the peaks and troughs September 29, 2009 COMPANIES with large foreign currency purchasing exposures are increasingly turning to hedging to protect themselves, using derivative financial instruments such as futures and options. Sterling weakness means currency management has become a necessity for those who buy materials from overseas. Take soft drinks maker AG Barr, for example, which reported strong results on Tuesday. The [...]
FOREX FLASH November 17, 2009 Bank fuels new high for the poundSterling hit its highest level in a year against the US dollar yesterday after Bank of England MPC member Andrew Sentance said in a speech on Monday night that he believed the UK had emerged from recession and that loose monetary policy cannot continue indefinitely. Mark O’Sullivan at Currencies [...]
Real’s rise cannot be stopped by inflows tax October 27, 2009 SINCE 2007, we have been repeatedly told that the US dollar needs to weaken in order to rectify the global imbalances that were, at least partially, to blame for the economic downturn. But not everybody has welcomed the greenback’s recent decline. European officials have already been making noises about how the strength of the euro [...]
Real’s rise cannot be stopped by inflows tax October 27, 2009 SINCE 2007, we have been repeatedly told that the US dollar needs to weaken in order to rectify the global imbalances that were, at least partially, to blame for the economic downturn. But not everybody has welcomed the greenback’s recent decline. European officials have already been making noises about how the strength of the euro [...]
THE TIPSTER November 3, 2009 THE Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) begins its meeting today to decide whether its QE policies should be extended further. Sterling has fared better than might have been expected, but given the poor economic data and banking sector woes, pressures on sterling remain to the downside. With analysts revising US non-farm payrolls upwards, [...]
A Tobin tax would destroy London without making the world safer November 8, 2009 It is imperative that Gordon Brown’s proposals to levy a Tobin tax on financial transactions be defeated. Such a tax would be a disaster: it would endanger Britain’s economic interests and do nothing for ordinary taxpayers or the stability of the financial system. Championing such a scheme reflects a failure to engage with the real [...]
Your attitude to risk key to 2010 trading December 1, 2009 IT WAS no surprise that the Dubai debt scare saw investors running back to safe-havens such as the US dollar, Japanese yen and the Swiss franc. Risk appetite is one of the biggest drivers of the foreign exchange markets. The story of recent months in forex markets has been one of increasing investor confidence, which [...]
Clever traders are looking to the future and the recovery October 20, 2009 THE PAST year will be remembered as a turbulent one for the global markets, beginning with the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the nationalisation of banks, and volatility hitting record highs. Many investors were so unclear about the state of the economy that they held on to their money. However, with the FTSE over 5,000 [...]