A brief look at last week and the week ahead, the Weekly Review from IG Index.
Last Week's Trading Highlights
The UK’s leading index started the week at 5625, with little movement in either direction as the week progressed.
The big news, however, came from the US and Wednesday’s decision by the Fed to keep interest rates at their historic lows of between 0-0.25%.
The Fed commented that ‘the absence of inflation’ allowed for an extended period of low interest rates.
This stance was backed up on Thursday by the US Labor Department, which showed the consumer price index was flat in February, with core inflation seeing a mere 0.1% rise from January.
US markets responded positively and the Dow Jones pushed out to a 17-month high of 10779 on Thursday.
On home soil, Monday saw Moody’s confirm that the UK’s AAA credit rating was secure, on the basis that the UK is able to repay its current deficit – Thursday’s news that UK public borrowing in February was less than economists expected, and speculation that borrowing for the year could be less than forecast, should help the rating to remain secure.
Elsewhere, short-term unemployment fell once again, dropping by 33,000 in the three months to January to stand at 2.45 million, compared to the preceding three months. However long-term unemployment, covering those who have been out of work for more than a year, rose 61,000 to 687,000.
Unemployment was also a feature of company news with Shell, Barclaycard, retailer Ether Austin, and Siemens all announcing substantial job cuts.
In its latest round of cost-cutting, German giant Siemens shed the largest number of jobs, with 4200 to be cut from its IT offices.
Companies reporting included high-street baker Greggs, which saw full-year profit for 2009 come in at £48.8 million, a year-on-year rise of 8%; clothes retailer French Connection , who managed to reduce its annual loss to £8.7 million; and the Co-op, which posted a pre-tax profit for 2009 of £402 million.
IG Index
- Live Prices, Charts, Indices, Equities, Commodities, Forex and more >> read the
IG Index Review.
Weekly Trading Report 22 March 2010 - The Week Ahead
Indicators
The week kicks off with EU consumer sentiment on Monday afternoon and picks up with a clutch of housing data releases on Tuesday.
On Wednesday all eyes in the UK will be on Alistair Darling’s last Budget before the General Election. Wednesday is also the week’s heaviest day for economic data releases, with announcement of US durable goods orders for February as well as a raft of PMI data from across Europe.
The week winds up with retail sales data from the UK and confidence surveys from Germany, France and the US.
Company Results and Reports
Some big names are reporting year-end results this week including insurer Legal & General on Tuesday, Eurasian Natural Resources on Wednesday and Next on Thursday.
In the US, luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co announces half-year results on Monday, Adobe Systems and Walgreen release reports on Tuesday and Generals Mills and Red Hat sum up Q3 and Q4 respectively on Wednesday.
The above content does not constitute investment advice. Neither Online-Spread-Betting.com nor IG Index accepts any responsibility for any use that may be made of the above.
Remember that financial spread betting is a leveraged product and can result in losses that exceed your initial deposit. Spread betting may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.
IG Index
- Live Prices, Charts, Indices, Equities, Commodities, Forex and more >> read the
IG Index Review.
For previous weeks see below.
Note - Spread Betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and you can lose more than your initial investment, it may not be suitable for all investors. Ensure you only speculate with money that you can afford to lose and that you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.
'Financial Spread Betting 22 March 2010', Review by D. Jones, last update: 22-Mar-10
Related articles:
Online Spread Betting, 6-Jun-11,
Online Spread Betting News: Highlights of last week's spread betting markets and a look at the factors that will influence the week ahead plus company releases, economic news and...see: Online Spread Betting
Financial Spread Betting 4 April 2011, 4-Apr-11,
Financial Spread Betting 4 April 2011: Construction firms were on the rise, with building supplies firm Wolseley returning to profit in the first half of the year and house builder Bellway reporting profit up...see: Financial Spread Betting 4 April 2011
Financial Spread Betting 21 March 2011, 21-Mar-11,
Financial Spread Betting 21 March 2011: On Thursday the Japanese yen reached ¥76.25 against the US dollar, its highest level since the end of World War II. The BoJ continued to pour in further funds to stabilise...see: Financial Spread Betting 21 March 2011
Looking to improve your trading results? Get free trading tips and trading analysis as well as the latest trading offers »
Trading News.
Risk Warning:
Spread Betting carries a high level of risk
to your capital and you can lose more than your initial investment,
it may not be suitable for all investors. Ensure you only
speculate with money that you can afford to lose and that you fully
understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.
Disclaimer:
Online-Spread-Betting.com does not endorse the information and
analysis available on this site. It is provided purely for information
purposes and is delivered as a personal view of the writer. Under no circumstances
is the information hereon to be used or considered as, an offer to sell, or a
solicitation of any offer to buy. The website content does not constitute investment
advice and neither the individual contributor nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accepts any
responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.
* Tax Free Trading:
Tax law is subject to change. It may also differ if you pay tax in a jurisdiction outside the UK.
