UNCERTAINTY KEEPS LID ON ASSET PRICES July 22, 2009 GEORGE TCHETVERTAKOVHEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI UK FINANCIAL markets continue to remain in a state of flux as conflicting indicators and persistently unpredictable macro events sway sentiment. The frothy risk-rally in equities, commodities and FX that started in March hit a wall of doubt in mid-May leading to a sense of overextension amongst investors as [...]
Osborne to scrap FSA and beef up the Bank July 20, 2009 THE BANK of England will become the UK’s main financial regulator and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will be abolished if the Conservatives win the next election, shadow chancellor George Osborne said yesterday. In the Tory response to chancellor Alistair Darling’s white paper on financial regulation, Osborne said he would “lead the British economy from [...]
Osborne to scrap FSA and beef up the Bank July 20, 2009 THE BANK of England will become the UK’s main financial regulator and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will be abolished if the Conservatives win the next election, shadow chancellor George Osborne said yesterday. In the Tory response to chancellor Alistair Darling’s white paper on financial regulation, Osborne said he would “lead the British economy from [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 3, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES INTEL SEES WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITYAn ageing line-up of PCs and the arrival of Windows 7 will cause companies to start spending again on computers next year, according to the head of the world’s largest chipmaker. The comments by Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, underscore growing optimism in the technology industry that next year will see a return [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 3, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES INTEL SEES WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITYAn ageing line-up of PCs and the arrival of Windows 7 will cause companies to start spending again on computers next year, according to the head of the world’s largest chipmaker. The comments by Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, underscore growing optimism in the technology industry that next year will see a return [...]
CENTRAL BANK POLICIES ARE DIVERGING August 19, 2009 GEORGE TCHETVERTAKOVHEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI UK LOOKING at macroeconomic events over the past few weeks, it is becoming increasingly clear that central banks around the world are considering different monetary policy frameworks going forward. Over the past 18 months, many central banks were forced to follow similar policies of cutting interest rates as quickly [...]
Ted Baker confident on outlook June 16, 2009 Fashion brand Ted Baker said it was confident full-year results would be in line with expectations as it posted a 7.6 per cent increase in revenue for the 19 weeks to 12 June. The group said gross margins were also in line. But Seymour Pierce yesterday warned of tough times ahead: “As a retailer that [...]
SWISSIE WILL STAY STRONG DESPITE SNB July 14, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT INTERVENTION is always a subject of controversy and conversation in the currency market. Typically, traders focus on the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which at one time spent nearly $250bn trying to drive down the value of the yen. However, while the BoJ receives the lion’s share of attention, the [...]
SWISSIE WILL STAY STRONG DESPITE SNB July 14, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT INTERVENTION is always a subject of controversy and conversation in the currency market. Typically, traders focus on the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which at one time spent nearly $250bn trying to drive down the value of the yen. However, while the BoJ receives the lion’s share of attention, the [...]
Supermarkets that reacted to slump are strongest July 21, 2009 THE usual assumption is that the stock market is a “leading indicator” for economic confidence. But as today’s cut of YouGov data shows, it doesn’t lead public sentiment, but is actually behind. The graph shows the BrandIndex scores for public perception of “value for money” (rolling monthly average) for Waitrose, J Sainsbury and M&S, alongside [...]