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• Tuesday, 22 May 2012

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• Jobs Market Continues to Sway Investors - 3 may 2012

Indications of a Wall Street rally at the beginning of May were short-lived as investors reacted negatively to troubling jobs reports in both the United States and Europe, despite a few encouraging signs relating to the US economy. Following the announcement by payroll processing company ADP that the US created fewer jobs in April when compared to March (119,000 and 201,000 respectively), the Dow Jones industrial average dropped by 87 points before ending the day at 13,268.57 points, being down 10.75 points. This was a sharp turnaround from the previous day when US manufacturing reports lifted the Dow to close at its highest point in over four years. The S&P 500 fell 3.51 points, closing at 1,402.31, while the Nasdaq ended the day up 9.41 points at 3,059.85

• JOBS Act - Easing Regulations for Growth - 5 April 2012

Having passed the United States House of Representatives with bipartisan support on March 8 this year, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act – more commonly, and maybe aptly, referred to as the JOBS Act – is awaiting the signature of Barack Obama to pass it into law. The purpose of the Act is to ease various securities regulations, and thereby encourage the funding of small businesses in the United States. The President has already made known his readiness to sign the JOBS Act once it has been passed by both chambers, and analysts are reportedly studying the new legislation with a view to making use of any opportunities it may present to Wall Street investors.

• World Markets Affected by Greek Debt Resolution Delays - 9 February 2012

As the European Central Bank struggles to reach consensus on how it will contribute to the restructuring of Greece's debt, stocks on Wall Street closed higher than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5.75 points to 12,884; the Nasdaq Composite climbed 11.8 points to 2,916; and the Standard & Poor's 500 rose by 2.9 points to close the day at 1,350. In contrast London's FTSE dropped by 0.24 percent, with Germany's DAX closing down 0.08 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.54 percent, and Japan's Nikkei Average close 1.1 percent up.

• Facebook IPO May Happen Before Year-End - 1 December 2011

As social media continues to gain ground both in the business world and with private users, speculation continues as to whether Facebook, arguably the most popular social media network at this time, will go public. Following LinkedIn's successful initial public offering in May this year, investors appeared keen to support IPOs by prominent players in the social media segment of the tech sector. So there was a measure of disappointment that Facebook seemed to be dragging its heels with regard to going public, with rumors that if this happened at all, it would only be in 2012. As we enter the last month of 2011, however, speculation has resurfaced that Facebook may very well issue an IPO before the end of the year, with the objective of raising $10 billion, valuing the company at $100 billion.

• SOPA Triggers Tech Sector Backlash - 17 November 2011

With tech and social media companies continuing to grow in size and influence in the US economy, investors take note when companies like Google and Facebook make waves about proposed legislation affecting these market sectors. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) introduced in the House of Representatives at the end of last month, has these tech giants up in arms as they criticize the proposals for being too stringent, noting that it opens up possibilities for a host of unintended consequences. As the name of the act suggests, its intention is to deal with trademark and copyright issues by targeting foreign sites that facilitate piracy of copyrighted materials such as music, films and television shows.

• Stocks Rally on Fed's Resolve to Aid Economic Recovery - 3 November 2011

The first two days of the week saw Wall Street markets declining significantly, with a noteworthy recovery occurring on Wednesday afternoon. The latest policy statement from the Federal Reserve, backed up by positive remarks from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, indicate a commitment from authorities to continue to assist the US economy in its recovery efforts. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed by 178 points, with the S&P 500 rising by 20 points, and the Nasdaq composite surging 33 points, being 1.5 percent, 1.6 percent and 1.3 percent respectively.

• Eurozone Remains in Spotlight in Week Ahead - 24 October 2011

Europe's leaders gathered in Brussels over the weekend to discuss the region's crisis, and with a formal announcement expected to be made on Wednesday, investors are very hopeful that a resolution to the escalating problems in Eurozone economies will be found. While pointing out that the circumstances currently facing Europe are unprecedented, Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, noted that progress had been made, referring to working through the region's problems as a "painful process". In the weeks leading up to the summit, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the German Chancellor appeared to differ of how best to proceed with a government-backed fund to assist banks and Eurozone economies, but Wednesday's announcement is likely to reveal if they have come to an agreement in this regard.