Cruise ship takes on Tower Bridge: Wins August 19, 2015 A huge cruise ship successfully squeezed under Tower Bridge over the weekend as London braces itself for a possible future as a number one destination for cruise liners. Onlookers watched in awe as Silversea’s Silver Cloud monolith came through Tower Bridge on its way to tour eastern Europe, before heading back to London. Left hand down [...]
Sun Tzu and the art of currency war – CNBC Comment August 18, 2015 WITH talk of currency wars gathering steam, aided by the Chinese government’s devaluation of the yuan last week, it’s difficult to know which ancient Chinese philosopher to turn to. Sun Tzu’s words from The Art of War – “the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting” – may come to mind. [...]
China’s weakened yuan: From deflation to US equities, the effects are set to ripple out across the world August 18, 2015 One week on and investors are still digesting the impact of China’s sudden currency devaluation. Last week the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) dropped the daily reference rate it sets for the yuan by 1.9 per cent, and committed to taking the market’s views into account when setting the currency’s value in future. Consensus [...]
Plunging oil pushes back the all-important first Fed hike – etoro Tips & Picks August 17, 2015 OIL prices dipped further in the Asian session overnight yesterday, with US crude trading around $42 a barrel. A report from some investment banks has argued that we could well see oil trading lower still from these levels. A lot of technical traders point to the fact that we could be looking towards $35 per [...]
In a jiffy and like a bat out of hell: How fast are fast cliches? August 12, 2015 We've all tried to impress employers with our enthusiasm by telling them we'll finish tasks in a jiffy – and while we're at it, they've told most of us to make it snappy, too. But how fast is the blink of an eye or the drop of a hat? And how speedy, exactly, is a [...]
Oil prices: A game of chicken or headless chickens? – CNBC Comment August 11, 2015 Forget QE and low base rates, the real great global stimulus – in the form of tumbling commodities and most importantly oil – continues and it’s hard to see what’s going to change any time soon. This huge transfer of wealth from commodity producers to consumers has shown little sign of abating. In oil, the [...]
Bulls and bears clash over copper price: Buying opportunity or time to short? The outlook for the industrial metal August 11, 2015 Copper prices are at five-year lows and experts are divided over whether the industrial metal has further to fall – or is due for a rebound. In the last week traders have been going short copper in droves – betting the price will fall and making money when it does. US traders held net short [...]
Copper price rebound could spell success for Chile and Peru stock markets August 10, 2015 Chile and Peru’s stock markets could be set for a rebound if copper prices pick up, analysts are predicting. Economists expect copper prices to rise by the end of the year from their current multi-year lows. UBS is forecasting copper will reach $6,700, while Capital Economics expects $6,250. This could represent a buying opportunity for [...]
Non-farm payrolls shook opportunities out the market – eToro Tips & Picks August 10, 2015 AFTER last week’s payrolls in the US surprised with a weaker than expected reading, a previously directionless market has been opened up to a whole host of opportunities. Gold prices jumped aggressively after the US non-farm payrolls showed growth of 215,000 jobs rather than the expected 270,000. They had been hovering at lower support levels, [...]
Sunsets, good music and great TV: These are the top 10 keys to happiness August 10, 2015 Whole industries have been built on the back of schemes to help people find happiness – but it seems the ultimate key to joy is surprisingly straightforward: a good, old-fashioned sunset. That's according to a new study, which found 52 per cent of people cite beautiful sunsets as one of the top 10 pleasures that [...]