asia, china, currency, europe, stock exchanges, trading
With the sophisticated methods of trading in the world today and stock exchanges handling billions of dollars on a daily basis, looking back at the challenges faced by early traders and the development of the modern commercial system can be quite fascinating. Trade is likely as old as mankind itself, with commodities and services being bartered long before different forms of currency were created. Some experts, including well respected historian Peter Watson, are of the opinion that commerce likely began around 150,000 years ago. Certainly, trade has featured prominently throughout recorded...
Read more »
industry, investors, market sectors, monopolies
The recent wave of mergers, and potential mergers, in the aviation industry have raised their fair share of criticism and analysis, with concerns over monopolies and raised fares being voiced, amid fears that the commercial aviation industry may be in trouble. However, the deals struck at the biennial Farnborough International Airshow, held on 19-25 July 2010 in Hampshire, England, indicate, not only recovery, but that there is huge potential for this market sector to keep growing. On Friday organizers announced that deals to the value of $47 billion took place...
Read more »
corporate results, federal reserve, financial sector, investors, us economy, wall street
With second quarter corporate results and forecasts offering up a mixed bag of optimism and pessimism, (or realism depending on who you talk to), the mid-week market reflected investor disappointment at Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's warning that the US economic outlook remains uncertain. Actually, his words were "unusually uncertain" which is seen by many as an indication that this has come as somewhat of a surprise even to the Fed. However, Bernanke offered reassurance that tightening up of policies will prevent the US economy from falling into recession again,...
Read more »
apple, at&t, dow components, investors, microsoft, us economy, wall street
The upcoming week will see the trickle of second quarter results, and projected earnings, turn into a flood on Wall Street, which will no doubt have an impact on markets and investment decisions. More than a hundred of America's largest and most influential companies will release data during the week, providing a clearer picture of the state of the economy, as well as providing some insight into consumer activity. The reporting season started off reasonably well with relatively good results from Alcoa and Intel, but last week ended with Citigroup, Bank of America and...
Read more »
dow jones, economic recovery, federal reserve, nasdaq
The minutes of the US Federal Reserve's meeting on June 23 were released on Wednesday, revealing that the Fed is being somewhat cautious, if not pessimistic, with regard to the pace of economic recovery. This resulted in markets finishing flat yesterday, despite the Obama administration's assurances that the $787 billion stimulus plan is working. As reported by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) on Wednesday, around three million jobs have either been created or saved from redundancy. This figure measures up to the expectations of the CEA which was aiming to save 3.5 million...
Read more »
consumer sentiment, economists, google, jp morgan chase, second quarter, wall street
It appears that cautious optimism was the name of the game on Wall Street following the Independence Day weekend celebrations, resulting in the best week it has experienced in the past twelve months. Cautious optimism can also be used to describe the mood among investors as companies prepare to start reporting second quarter profits and losses, with Alcoa (Dow component, Fortune 500, NYSE:AA) starting the ball rolling today, Monday July 12. Other Dow components expected to report in the upcoming week include JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), General...
Read more »
china, europe, global economy, imf, international monetary fund
In its global growth forecast released today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its expectations for growth from its April forecast of 4.2 percent to 4.6 percent, noting that this was a reflection of stronger activity in the first two quarters of 2010, and was in anticipation of fiscal measures being put into place by authorities, particularly in Europe. The IMF expressed confidence that, despite the European debt crisis that continues to cause turbulence and increase potential risk, the forecast of 4.6 percent global economic growth is a realistic one.
Read more »
consumer protection, dodd-frank, federal reserve, financial institutions, wall street
While the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act heads to the Senate after being passed by the House early last week, there are vastly differing opinions on Wall Street as to what is likely to be achieved when the 2,000 page bill goes into effect. It is anticipated that the Senate will vote in mid-July, with President Barak Obama signing it into law soon thereafter.
Read more »
