Private-equity firms tell investors that the years following recessions offer the best opportunity to make money. This time may be different.
Prices paid in leveraged buyouts last year, at the tail of the worst financial crisis in more than seven decades, are about 25 percent higher on average than in 2001 after the dot-com bubble burst, [...]

global markets, stock market Hide

AS COMPANIES in the alternative energy sector took a hit during the downturn for reasons that are no longer front and centre, they will once again be a key investment theme this year.
So said Lars Kalbreier, Credit Suisse’s Zurich-based global head of equity and alternatives research at a media briefing yesterday.
Valuations are now attractive for [...]

commodity, forex, investments, stock market Hide

HE markets for most risk-related trades, from equities to oil to commodity currencies, are likely to push higher in the first quarter on ultra-low interest rates, still ample liquidity, and continued economic recovery.
The key factors that are likely to determine whether the rally continues in 2010 include economic recovery, liquidity, interest rates, corporate earnings and [...]

commodity, forex, stock market, trading strategy Hide

According to market watchers, they expect to see year-on-year gains of 10 to 20% in these sectors.
Climate change is one key factor that is expected to keep money flowing into the commodities markets.
Some market watchers said with continually evolving weather patterns, soft commodities such as corn and palm are seeing more upward investment potential.
“When it [...]

commodity, inflation, investments Hide

The U.S. economy will slip back into recession in the second and third quarter of 2010 as the boost from fiscal stimulus measures and inventory rebuilding wears off, James Shugg, senior economist at Westpac Bank, told CNBC Wednesday.
“In the second half of this year, starting in the second quarter, a bit of a mismatch is [...]

recession, stock market, trading strategy, US Hide

SHANGHAI: China said on Monday it would soon launch a stock index covering 500 firms listed in the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan to enhance financial cooperation in the Greater China region.
China Securities Index Co, established by the mainland’s two bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen, will start to publish the CSI Cross-Straits 500 Index [...]

China, currency, investments, stock market Hide

Wall Street’s first test of the new year and decade could well be whether investors are following each other over a cliff.
Following a year that featured a violent stock rally led mainly by institutional investors and traders, 2010 begins with new signs that retail investors are beginning to buy into a better future for stocks.
While [...]

consumers, earnings, stock market, US Hide

TOKYO: The Tokyo Stock Exchange, plagued by a series of technical problems, introduced a new faster trading system on Monday, stepping up its efforts to stay ahead of rival Asian bourses.
The TSE’s next-generation trading platform, called “arrowhead”, can process orders in 0.005 seconds, much faster than the previous technology and on a par with the [...]

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NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks edged higher on Wednesday after a better-than-expected report on manufacturing activity, indicating that a recovery from recession was on track.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.10 points (0.03 percent) to 10,548.51, a day after the blue-chip index fell for the first time in seven sessions that saw new 2009 highs.
The [...]

bonds, dollar, earnings, stock market, US Hide

JUST as Santa checks his list twice to find out who has been naughty or nice, BT has gone through news from 2009’s financial torrent to sieve major events that have shaped the local market – for better or worse.
The effects of rights issues, rule changes, accounting scandals and other events will linger. So let’s [...]

housing, Interest rates, investments, Risk Management, stock market Hide