Archive for November, 2010

US Consumer Confidence and Chicago Purchasing Managers index for November helped lift some of the European debt gloom from the day trading markets, and push the FTSE and DAX indices back into flat-positive territory at the close. The general theme of the day has been one of caution with traders refusing to bargain hunt despite...
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Equity markets across Europe gave a unanimous ‘thumbs down’ to the Irish bailout with traders and investors alike remaining unconvinced that Europe’s debt woes have been contained. After an initially positive start to the week, the day trading markets soon eroded gains on light volumes to return to parity by mid morning before a...
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A one-yen fall, a two-yen rally and a one-yen setback left sterling unchanged from a week ago when it opened in London this versus the yen this week. Its two-yen range was narrow by the usual standards. Sterling was also virtually unchanged on the week versus the Swiss franc having covered a three-cent range. After...
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Sterling never ventured very far above last Monday’s starting point versus the dollar. A sharp fall on Tuesday afternoon took it two and a half cents lower and was followed by a laborious climb back to the week’s highs. A cent-and-a-half dip on Friday was similarly temporary and sterling was within half a cent...
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A range of slightly less than two cents kept sterling in check versus the single currency first on the upside on Monday and early Tuesday, and then on the downside as the markets opened this week. Given the positive inflation figure that was released on Wednesday by the BoE, which appeared to lessen the...
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Ireland’s Green Party weighed on sentiment today after speculation mounted that they could potentially leave the coalition government after the budget. Discussions are believed to have been ongoing for much of the day after last night’s decision to accept EU and IMF bailout help. If the Green Party did decide to pull out of...
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After treading water on Monday and Tuesday last week, at one point trading a yen below last Monday’s starting point, the pound set off higher the following Wednesday. It was up at the start of the week, three and a half yen above last Monday morning’s level, and was still up there when London...
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Sterling spent the first two days of the week in a one-cent range, threatening to go nowhere. On Wednesday morning it took off higher, peaking on Friday morning two and a half cents above Monday’s origin. Since then it has been consolidating its gains and it opened in London this morning two cents stronger...
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Data released in New Zealand shows that unemployment fell sharply in Q3, and the Reserve Bank of Australia surprised day trading markets with a rate increase. Sterling versus the Kiwi Downward lurches last Tuesday and Wednesday accounted for most of the damage to sterling last week. The Kiwi dollar’s first boost came with Tuesday’s UK...
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European equity markets have been making new 2 year highs today after a string of positive company announcements, as well as some US dollar weakness which has seen investors indulge in fresh buying as the FTSE100 and DAX post their highest levels in 28 months. With commodity prices continuing to surge higher, the day...
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