Retail sales hit by tax and inflation October 21, 2010 THERE is a simple reason why retail sales are beginning to fall, and it has very little to do with the Comprehensive Spending review. A triple whammy of limited pay rises, elevated inflation and tax increases have conspired to impoverish most of the public over the past year, a development that has been barely picked [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD September 12, 2010 Investors are using options to brace for big swings this week as Wall Street enters the peak of the most volatile month for stocks historically. Options on the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, were one of the top-traded contracts in the options market as investors made bets on a sharp jump in [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD September 12, 2010 Investors are using options to brace for big swings this week as Wall Street enters the peak of the most volatile month for stocks historically. Options on the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, were one of the top-traded contracts in the options market as investors made bets on a sharp jump in [...]
Retail chiefs in call for rates shake-up September 20, 2010 RETAIL chiefs have demanded that the government changes the way it calculates business rates to help struggling shops to stay afloat. The current rate is partly based on September’s Retail Price Index (RPI) which is expected to be around four per cent. But the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called on the coalition to find [...]
THE TIPSTER September 27, 2010 MINING stocks have had a good run recently. With some important economic data due this week in the form of the UK’s GDP and US consumer confidence figures today, some good numbers could push the miners higher. Capital CFDs offers a price of 3,699.1p-3,703.9p for Rio Tinto. Gold’s key resistance level of $1,300 per ounce [...]
A string of strong earnings reports sends FTSE jumping April 20, 2011 COMMODITY stocks helped power the FTSE 100 index sharply higher yesterday, while earnings from Reckitt Benckiser and Home Retail, following US tech bellwether Intel, boosted risk appetite. The FTSE 100 closed up 125.39 points, or 2.1 per cent, at 6,022.26 following a 0.5 per cent gain on Tuesday. This wiped out Monday’s 2.1 per cent [...]
Mining lifts FTSE while banks drag September 28, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed slightly higher yesterday as stronger mining stocks offset falls from banks still dogged by investor concerns over sovereign debt. The FTSE 100 closed 5.02 points, or 0.1 per cent, higher at 5,578.44 in skittish trading, with the index having dipped as low as 5,506.07. Miners were in demand, boosted by [...]
FTSE 100 climbs to a 10-week high as strong UBS results boost bank sector July 27, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index hit a 10-week closing high yesterday, as a buoyant banking sector boosted by strong results from Swiss lender UBS countered weak US consumer confidence data. The FTSE 100 closed up 14.55 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,365.67, its highest closing level since 13 May, having retreated from an intra-day peak [...]
No double dip but UK faces weak recovery March 3, 2011 BRITAIN’S recovery looks set to be weighed down by sluggish growth, the latest business surveys suggest. The economy is on course to grow by 0.5 per cent this quarter, according to Markit’s surveys, rebounding from the snow-affected 0.6 per cent contraction in the final three months of last year. Yet much of the recovery is [...]
Mixed earnings dampen recent Wall Street rally July 27, 2010 The S&P snapped a three-day winning streak yesterday after mixed earnings reports and a fall in consumer confidence, but analysts said US stocks were taking a breather and the rally could pick back up. Solid earnings from Dow component DuPont and Cummins cheered investors, but that was offset by gloomy comments from steelmakers, including US [...]