The UK Index ’s banks are weighing heavily on the UK flagship index into the new week (16pts out of a 60pt decline) on fears that a No vote in next Sunday’s Italian constitutional referendum could mean the toppling of PM Renzi and death toll for some of the country’s battered banks. Fears are that…
This week saw new UK Chancellor Phillip Hammond deliver his first budget, or Autumn statement anyway. This may not have been the most exciting on record – they rarely are – but it did contain some reassuring nuggets of good humour and nonetheless impacted the share prices of an area of the stock market that…
Every Monday morning, myself and one of the other traders on my desk pick a stock we feel is going to be a stand out performer over the week ahead. Come Friday lunch time, whoever’s stock is the worst performer for the week buys lunch. This week my colleague went with Randgold Resources – what seemed…
Shares in loss-making African budget airline Fastjet (FJET) are bouncing from their worst levels (-4% vs -19% to fresh all-time lows) following news that the Chairman has quit because the company already needs to raise more capital. A management departure from the top of the tree is seldom good news, far less when the company…
Shares in UK estate agent Countrywide (CWD) have fallen through this morning after its Q3 trading statement contained a FY profits warning attributed to less transactions since the referendum and changes to stamp duty. Although not specifically mentioned, new Chancellor Hammond’s pop at the rentals sector by banning administration fees probably hasn’t helped either. With…
Macro observations What a week it was for the Dollar, as the global reserve currency posted its longest string of positive sessions since 2013 to reach a record 13-year high when weighted against a basket of its peers. A bout of increased optimism of the state of the US economy under the leadership of President-elect Donald…