THE TIPSTER METALS’ SHINE BOOSTS THE FTSE MINERS October 11, 2009 RISING commodity prices have put the mining sector in the spotlight and sent their stock prices soaring. But will the bottom line support the rising share price? Miner Rio Tinto reports on Wednesday and it has made considerable ground since the credit crunch and since rival BHP Billiton declined to acquire them. The focus is [...]
Miners gain the most in 2009 so far September 22, 2009 MINING stocks have seen the biggest recovery in value of all FTSE 100 constituents so far this year, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream figures. An increased demand from the construction sector and improved confidence in a global economic recovery have driven mining shares higher, meaning that seven companies from within the sector are in the [...]
Forget active: savvy investors are going for the smart ETFs instead October 21, 2009 WHEN BlackRock acquired Barclays Global Investors and its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) business iShares back in June in a multi-billion dollar deal, it was widely expected that this would give some impetus to the evolution of ETFs both in the US and in the UK. One product that was expected to arrive in the UK was [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 17, 2009 ORACLEBarclays Wealth expressed concern over Oracle’s second-quarter results, after first quarter software sales came in below expectations on Wednesday. It said that sales of databases were weak in Europe and Asia as businesses continue to cut investment in projects. It added that management maintained its guidance. OLD MUTUALWhile many insurance sector constituents have seen their [...]
Banking shake-up gives the markets a case of the jitters November 3, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index fell to its lowest closing level in a month yesterday, led down by banks after shake-ups at Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds and poor results from Swiss peer UBS The FTSE 100 closed 67.29 points or 1.3 per cent weaker at 5,037.21, having surrendered the 5,000 level for the first [...]
Banking shake-up gives the markets a case of the jitters November 3, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index fell to its lowest closing level in a month yesterday, led down by banks after shake-ups at Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds and poor results from Swiss peer UBS The FTSE 100 closed 67.29 points or 1.3 per cent weaker at 5,037.21, having surrendered the 5,000 level for the first [...]
City Moves who’s switching jobs September 7, 2009 ActantLars Hjaltman has joined the exchange trading solutions firm as head of development, based in the UK but operating in the firm’s major markets across Europe and the US. Hjaltman has over 20 years of experience in technology and software development, having most recently been chief operating officer of Electronic Shipping Solutions. He has also [...]
When you are betting on the oil price, timing is all-important October 28, 2009 JUST how high can the oil price go? It broke through $80 last week, and in the past few days Barclays Capital analysts said that they think that oil has now made the transition into a higher trading band and a sustained improvement in demand should continue eating into excess inventories. The chances of oil [...]
Rollercoaster ride for gold seen ahead October 11, 2009 GOLD has stormed higher over the past week or so to hit new highs as the US dollar came under severe pressure and inflation fears rose. But with the precious metal still above the $1,000 mark, gold bugs and bears alike are asking how much higher it can go. Spot gold reached a record $1,061.20 [...]
The FSA must make sure that its tough new approach doesn’t backfire November 24, 2009 FINANCIAL services firms have come under the increasingly intense gaze of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in recent months. Its supervisory approach has changed dramatically as a result of the credit crisis. The upshot of this is that the risks for somebody who is FSA authorised, or is an “approved person” at an FSA authorised [...]