Monday 23 July 2012
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Lack of money is the root of all evil
- George Bernard Shaw
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
FTSE 100
5,552.23
-99.54 -1.76%
FTSE 250
10,960.69
-208.16 -1.86%
FTSE 350
2,947.93
-53.26 -1.77%
FTSE All Share
2,883.84
-51.31 -1.75%
AIM 100
3,037.55
-65.39 -2.11%
AIM All Share
674.99
-10.81 -1.58%
11:48 am
Footsie drops nearly 100 points on euro fears
- Spanish and Greek concerns weigh on stocks
- Spanish yields continue to soar
- Chinese policy-maker warns of slowing growth
Concerns about Spain's financial health and renewed speculation about a Greek exit from the Eurozone sank European markets on Monday morning, prompting US stock futures to tank before the opening bell in New York.
The German Bundestag voted on Thursday to support Spain's application for EFSF aid for its banks, while the Eurogroup approved the terms of the 'up to EURO100bn' loan for Spain on Friday. However, the focus has now shifted to Spain's regions, after Valencia and Murcia asked the government for financial help from the newly established support fund.
Markets are now concerned that this will lead to a full-scale bailout for the southern European nation. The lack of confidence in the Spanish economy was being reflected in the borrowing costs on the secondary sovereign debt market this morning, with 10-year bond yields up 21.9 basis points on the day at 7.486%, a level seen as unsustainable.
"Given that Spain were unable to recapitalise their own banking sector, it's unlikely they will be able to bail out these regions. Their ability to tap the market is now more restricted than ever making a full bailout inevitable. The question is no longer if but when," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told the European Union (EU) that it will not provide any additional funds for Greece, prompting concerns that the country will default on its debt. German Vice Chancellor Philipp Roesler said he is "very skeptical" that the Troika can rescue Greece.
Also spreading the gloom was Song Guoqing, a policy-making member from the People's Bank of China, who said that Chinese GDP growth may fall to 7.4% in the three months to September. The economic expansion slowed to 7.6% in the second quarter, down from 8.1% in the first three months of the year.
FTSE 100: Financials and resource stocks suffer from risk aversion
Financial peers Aviva, RBS and Schroders and mining stocks Evraz, Vedanta, Kazakhmys, ENRC and Anglo American were heavy fallers as investors fled for 'safer' assets.
Fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management saw assets under management slip 1% in the third quarter, but says that this result was resilient amidst an uncertain environment. Shares edged lower.
Property giant Hammerson edged higher after seeing net rental income fall 1.6% in the six months to the end of June, though it was up 2.4% on a like-for-like basis.
Water group Pennon was lower after saying it has signed a 25-year waste services contract with Glasgow City Council, a key part of its growth strategy in Scotland.
FTSE 250: Dialight brightens day with half-year results
LED lighting group Dialight was a rare high riser after seeing revenues climb 18.2% and operating profits rise 21% in the half year ended June 30th.
In contrast, mining stocks were firmly lower, in line with their FTSE 100 counterparts, with Aquarius Platinum among the fallers after it said that the likelihood of industrial action over the South African winter is high. "Aquarius is by no means immune to this threat, and intermittent unlawful industrial action has occurred at one of Kroondal's four shafts in July."
Sector peer African Barrick Gold also fell after proposing to buy up the outstanding share capital of Aviva Mining (Kenya), its first expansion outside Tanzania.
Transport firm Stagecoach advanced after completing its acquisition of Coach America, a bankrupt operator of bus and coach services in the US.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Serco Group (SRP) 568.00p +0.44%
Hammerson (HMSO) 460.50p -0.11%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Evraz (EVR) 218.60p -6.74%
Aviva (AV.) 279.50p -5.16%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 839.00p -4.71%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 672.00p -4.48%
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 365.40p -4.17%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,416.00p -3.93%
Schroders (SDR) 1,291.00p -3.58%
BG Group (BG.) 1,243.50p -3.57%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,026.00p -3.57%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,036.00p -3.55%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Dialight (DIA) 1,059.00p +6.22%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 301.70p +2.27%
Ted Baker (TED) 899.50p +2.22%
Computacenter (CCC) 342.20p +1.75%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 75.85p +1.61%
CSR (CSR) 301.10p +0.70%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 487.60p +0.66%
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 119.30p +0.42%
KCOM Group (KCOM) 74.40p +0.40%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 287.70p +0.35%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
COLT Group SA (COLT) 112.30p -7.19%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 354.50p -6.07%
Afren (AFR) 120.90p -6.06%
Dixons Retail (DXNS) 15.54p -5.93%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 63.40p -5.37%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 111.10p -5.37%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 180.00p -5.31%
Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 465.70p -5.06%
Hays (HAS) 68.20p -4.95%
Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 40.41p -4.85%
ON THE SHARECRAZY BLOG
In recent times the printing press has been the 'get out of jail card' for the authorities. Could it ever occur to them that it was the printing press that put them there in the first place? As the world spirals down into a renewed slump, you can bet your bottom dollar (if there is such a thing in a system of elastic paper money) that the central bankers will charge once more into the breach with a renewed round of monetary 'stimulus'. As the conventional wisdom goes, injecting fresh money into the economy through the purchase of government bonds from banks helps to stimulate investment through lowering long-term interest rates. At a superficial level, this holds true. However, the wider consequences of 'quantitative easing' and the long-term impact on the economy are not as rosy.
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WHAT THE BROKERS SAY
THE LATEST ON THE CRAZY BOARD
The top 5 hot company threads on the Bulletin Board:
Falkland Oil & Gas
Norseman Gold
Vatukoula Gold
Circle Oil
Running trading thread
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BOOK OF THE WEEK
By Jack D. Schwager
A book review by James Faulkner of WatsHot.com
As of April 2012 the hedge fund industry reached a record high of $2.13 trillion total assets under management, having surpassed the previous high of $1.93 trillion in 2008 before the onset of the financial crisis. While the industry remains a relatively small component of the financial sector at large (it accounted for just 1.1% of the total funds and assets held by financial institutions as of 2009), it is often said to attract the creme de la creme of industry talent, and is home to the money of the some of the richest people on the planet.
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