It is of course a dangerous stance for a fund management house to go out “in print” as it were and state that we have gone “maximum bullish” on a sector that remains resolutely out of favour. If we are wrong, then people can point back at the statement with glee and say “fools”, whilst…
By Zak Mir. FTSE 100 Drugs Giants: Shire, Glaxo, Astra Apparently the acquisition by Shire Pharma of ViroPharma of the U.S. for $4.2bn was not cheap, but still shares of the UK group have shot ahead. This deal also puts in fellow FTSE 100 pharmaceutical Glaxo and Astra into play, if only on the basis…
By Zak Mir. Oil Favourites on AIM The recent fall in the price of Crude Oil to well below $100 has seemingly taken some of the wind out of the sales of the oil & gas explorers. However, the issue now is whether we have reached the floor in Crude and this mini asset class?…
By Zak Mir. Before I go into the technical analysis of my chosen three gold stocks today, I need to make a confession. Despite most of my colleagues here at SpreadBet Magazine being gold bugs and keen on gold mining stocks, I have to admit I am not a total believer in the fundamentals behind…
“Helicopter” Ben Bernanke! In his parting act, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has decided to continue printing some $85 billion per month (6% of GDP per year) and spend those dollars on government bonds and, in the process, keep interest rates low, stimulate investment, and reduce unemployment. Trouble is, interest rates have generally been rising,…
By George Leong Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ/AAPL) is maintaining its position as the top seller of smartphones in the U.S., but in the more important global market, Apple is trailing behind its competitors. Unless Apple gains traction in China and the emerging markets, the stock is going nowhere—and that is exactly what institutional money is saying.…
By Dominic Picarda. The turbo-charged rally in equities shows few signs of exhaustion, with Thursday’s losses quickly reversed on Friday. And yet, there seems to be deep disbelief among retail punters in the UK, going by the latest positioning data I have seen. This suggests a significant weight of shorts in S&P, FTSE and especially…
OK, referencing little war time ditties probably isn’t the most politically correct thing to do when talking about the ECB – but it made me chuckle. Yesterday’s utterly, utterly pointless decision by Europe’s central bank to lower interest rates by a whopping 0.25% to 0.25% smacks of desperation and has convinced me the fear-on…
By Dominic Picarda. If the Euro is to survive and its weaker members to enjoy recovery, the single currency needs to get a lot cheaper. The ECB made the right choice by cutting interest rates yesterday, but more will be needed in order to devalue the Euro and maintain the fragile pick-up on the continent.…
