Monday, July 26, 2010

Daily Markets - German IFO: What Slowdown?

Daily Markets - German IFO: What Slowdown?

German IFO: What Slowdown?

Posted: 26 Jul 2010 03:17 AM PDT

German business confidence improved strongly in July, taking economists by surprise. The business expectations, current situation and business climate indices are all approaching the highs last seen at the start of 2007. The improvement was broad based except for the construction industry. Of particular interest is that business sentiment in the retailing industry has turned positive for the first time since February 2008 while sentiment in the wholesale industry has improved … [visit site to read more]

UK Growth Surprises On The Upside

Posted: 26 Jul 2010 03:17 AM PDT

Contrary to expectations, UK GDP growth in the second quarter of this year exceeded expectations by a significant margin. The economy grew by 1.6% compared to a year ago, while the market expected 1.0%. The growth in the preceding two quarters was also upped somewhat.
With the GDP-weighted PMI (manufacturing and services) leading the economy by approximately one quarter the outlook for the UK economy in the third quarter of this year is positive. On a year-ago basis, output could exceed … [visit site to read more]

Wealthtrack: Hersh Cohen On How To Boost Income

Posted: 26 Jul 2010 02:56 AM PDT

On this week's WealthTrack, Consuelo Mack interviews Hersh Cohen, Chief Investment Officer of ClearBridge Advisors, a division of Legg Mason. The key question posed to him is: "How long can low yielding bonds deliver better returns than some of America's highest quality blue chip companies, which have dividends offering competitive yields and have a history of increasing dividends every year?"

Note: The transcript of this interview is not available yet, but will be posted here as … [visit site to read more]

The Week Ahead

Posted: 26 Jul 2010 02:52 AM PDT

The video clips below provide a handy summary of the reports expected on the economic, financial and corporate front around the globe during the week ahead.
US: Earnings, economic reports on tap
Exxon, Chevron, Boeing and Sprint lead a long list of earnings reports. An equally long list of economic data, including GDP, consumer sentiment, unemployment and new-home sales awaits investors.

Europe: BP and Shell report
European markets will get their first chance to react to the bank stress … [visit site to read more]

When Insults Had Class

Posted: 26 Jul 2010 02:50 AM PDT

Today's piece of humor as nothing to do with investments, but concerns soms glorious insults from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words. Enjoy!

The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor:
She said, "If you were my husband I'd poison your tea."
He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."
A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease."
"That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Usd/Jpy Below 200 Hour M/A

Posted: 26 Jul 2010 12:50 AM PDT

Usd/Jpy has been under some pressure the last couple of  hours and has pushed below its 200 hour M/A of  87.30. If it holds below the pair should test its 100 hour M/A at 87.08. More support can be found at 86.74, an area of past hourly lows. If the pair holds a  move back up to 87.67 is … [visit site to read more]

So You Think You Can Be A Portfolio Manager?

Posted: 26 Jul 2010 12:28 AM PDT

The task of managing portfolios isn’t as easy as it seems. Not only do you have to think about issue selection, you also need skills like portfolio construction and trading. Over the years, I have seen very smart and experienced sell-side analysts who have had great difficulty making the transition to the buy-side and portfolio management.

David Merkel at Aleph Blog wrote a terrific series called The Education of a Corporate Bond Manager (see Part 1, part 2 and part 3) that addresses many of … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Bank Stress Tests Fail Support The Euro Due To Questionable Reliability

Posted: 25 Jul 2010 11:51 PM PDT

Bank Stress Tests Fail Support the Euro Due To Questionable Reliability
After a long time waiting, the Euro-Zone’s famous Bank Stress Tests results were finally published on Friday evening. The results failed to reassure investors regarding the stability of the European banking system as analysts claimed that the test weren’t strict enough. As this week begins, the reliability of the tests will remain the main topic. Will it eventually boost the Euro?
Economic News
USD - The Dollar Ends A … [visit site to read more]

Why Currencies Play An Important Role In Earnings

Posted: 25 Jul 2010 10:01 PM PDT

It’s earnings season. And more and more companies are talking about currencies.

The headlines read like this …

“Weak Euro a Drain on S&P 500 Revenues”

“Currency Fluctuations Wipe $500 Million off IBM (NYSE:IBM) Top Line”

“EBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Lowers Forecast as Currency Weighs on Revenue”

“PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) Earnings Down 3 Percent on Currency Moves”

It’s important to realize the role that currencies play in the performance of multi-national businesses. The impact can be huge. … [visit site to read more]

Crude Oil Risks Tilted To The Upside, Gold Investor Liquidation Continues

Posted: 25 Jul 2010 09:16 PM PDT

Crude oil is making its way toward the psychological $80 barrier, as price action indicates that risks are tilted modestly to the upside. Gold tries to hold up despite continued investor liquidation.
Commodities - Energy
Crude Oil Risks Tilted To the Upside
Crude Oil (WTI)        $79.12       +$0.14        +0.18%

Commentary: Crude oil is up very slightly after rising 3.9% last week. The primary catalyst for crude's latest … [visit site to read more]

M&A Activity In First Half 2010 Highest Since 2007

Posted: 25 Jul 2010 08:58 PM PDT

Star Tribune — “After sputtering for more than a year amid the credit crisis and ensuing recession, the deals machine appears to be running once again. Mergers and acquisitions posted a fourth consecutive quarterly increase in the second quarter and deals in the first half of the year reached the highest level since 2007, an indication that more companies are increasing their confidence in the economy.  Nationally, there were 5,345 deals in the first half of the year, up 49 percent from … [visit site to read more]
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