CNBC Comment: Davos cynics miss its true relevance January 20, 2014 IT’S EASY to be hysterical or snarky about the annual gathering of chief executives, politicians, economists and “thought leaders” at the World Economic Forum in Davos (which begins this week) – particularly if you’re not going. Plenty of conspiracy theorists suspect that the world’s elite is gathering in this small Swiss town to plan the [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Understanding the nature of the London forex session January 20, 2014 Trading the London forex session can be an eye-opening experience; the movements are hefty and trend-following traders tend to perform best during these hours. The reason for this is that the market’s bias will be quite consistent until New York joins in the afternoon. This means that, if the day starts out with a stronger [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Analyst picks January 20, 2014 CHIEF STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short sterling-dollar, long Aussie-yen and euro-sterling Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week Full-scale risk aversion is a scenario that constantly circles the borders of the financial markets, but positioning for catastrophe is a game fraught with false starts. Until we [...]
We let the truffle dogs loose in rolling fields of southern France January 20, 2014 Frederika Whitehead goes in search of pungent fungus that drives foodies crazy SERGE, our guide on the truffle hunt, is twinkle-eyed as he tells us about the aphrodisiac properties of truffles. “Truffles,” he says, “are like women: round, firm and very sensuous. I am passionate about truffles because they are the food of love.” We [...]
Charter defends Time Warner bid after rejection January 15, 2014 Charter Communications insisted yesterday it sees annual synergies of $500m (£305m) and other benefits such as tax savings from its proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable, after the bid was knocked back immediately by its target’s board as “grossly inadequate”. In an investor presentation posted on its website yesterday, Charter said annual synergies would grow to [...]
CNBC Comment: UK fraud squad flounders behind US January 13, 2014 HOLLYWOOD loves a swindler. Leonardo DiCaprio’s role as a dwarf-tossing trader in The Wolf of Wall Street proves as much, and reinforces a modern-day misrepresentation of bankers as the real gangsters of New York. “My name is Jordan Belfort,” says DiCaprio in his opening line. “The year I turned 26, I made $49m, which really [...]
DailyFX: Analyst picks January 13, 2014 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short sterling-Aussie and sterling-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few weeks Near-term technical momentum has quickly shifted for the pound, which has seen yields drop over the past week. Tomorrow’s December UK consumer price index (CPI) report could affect [...]
Fed taper not a grave threat to the Fragile Five January 6, 2014 But 2014 will see heightened political risk in emerging markets FOR MANY emerging market investors, 2013 will go down as a year to forget. The MSCI emerging market equity index fell from highs of over 1,055 at the beginning of the year to less than 884 in June, ending the year 5 per cent down [...]
CNBC Comment: Global markets in 2014: What to expect January 6, 2014 IT’S A new year, and I received the most important present just before Christmas. In 2014, I will never again have to ask whether the US Federal Reserve will start tapering its asset purchase programme. The relief of that single fact cannot be overestimated, and I would like to personally thank Ben Bernanke and the rest [...]
DailyFX: Analyst picks January 6, 2014 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Looking to buy euro-Aussie dollar and euro-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few weeks In the absence of further central bank stimulus, a return of growth to Europe should bring a return of capital in 2014. Ahead of the [...]