Inflation fears as tax on pasties bites March 28, 2012 GEORGE Osborne’s pasty tax and other hikes in VAT will push up the cost of living even further, according to official figures out yesterday, while new data suggests higher wages could also be about to stoke inflation. The tax on hot food sold in retail outlets, along with higher duties on fuel, cigarettes and alcohol, will [...]
Energy stocks lift FTSE March 26, 2012 Energy stocks gave the FTSE 100 index renewed impetus in early trading but gains were limited by weaker miners and banks. Fears over China’s growth are still casting a shadow over commodity stocks while banks are still struggling to maintain upward momentum. Aberdeen Asset Management was the top riser, up 2.4 per cent as the [...]
Analyst picks for 20 March 2012 March 19, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Looking to buy euro-Swiss franc Expertise: Combining fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 month to 3 months It’s hard to ignore the Swiss National Bank’s SFr1.2000 floor on the cross and the ability for the market to remain so well supported ahead of the barrier. [...]
Dow Jones climbs despite Wal-Mart February 21, 2012 US stocks ended little changed yesterday, paring gains after the Dow topped 13,000 for the first time since May 2008, and as higher oil prices damped prospects for the economy. Greece’s securing of a bailout to avoid a disorderly default provided some support to stocks, but investors said the news had mostly been priced in [...]
We need peace and free trade – not crazed war-mongering April 2, 2012 PEACE and prosperity, fuelled by free trade and open markets: that is what the world needs. In the main, that is what it is getting, to a degree unprecedented in modern history and fuelled by modern communications. So it is terribly disappointing that the Argentine government seems so desperate to inflame tensions between itself and [...]
We need peace and free trade – not crazed war-mongering April 2, 2012 PEACE and prosperity, fuelled by free trade and open markets: that is what the world needs. In the main, that is what it is getting, to a degree unprecedented in modern history and fuelled by modern communications. So it is terribly disappointing that the Argentine government seems so desperate to inflame tensions between itself and [...]
THE WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD February 26, 2012 A RALLY on Wall Street will be put to the test this week, with the S&P 500 at its highest level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. The broad index is up 8.6 per cent for the year, closing at 1,365 on Friday. The S&P 500’s close was the highest since June [...]
THE TIPSTER March 5, 2012 INSURER Admiral endured choppy waters in 2011, seeing its share price drop to a nadir of 800p due to worries about bans on referral fees and a profit warning in the latter half of the year. 2012 has seen better sailing, but the company will need to show signs that the increase in claims has [...]
Fears of spike in cost of fuel February 27, 2012 FUEL prices are set to hit a record high, posing a threat to the economic recovery and meaning that many motorists cannot afford to fill up their cars – but chancellor George Osborne has ruled out cutting fuel duty in next month’s Budget. The average forecourt price for a litre of diesel last week hit [...]
Huge energy costs are the new debt crisis March 4, 2012 GREAT. Just as we begin to think of a world saved from immediate financial collapse as the 7th Cavalry that is the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Long-Term Refinancing Operations (LTRO) and Anglo-Saxon QE swamp the banks with liquidity, along comes the next crisis. The new kid on the block is a familiar foe: exploding energy [...]