Another Solid Week For Markets
| |
American markets, like most around the world, finished the week with solid gains and will be looking for a bit more this week.News that three more US banks failed over the weekend won't impact sentiment.That takes this year's failures to 123.US investors are now ignoring news of financial problems, secure in the knowledge that if the banks are middling to small they will fail and someone will buy.And if they are bigger banks, then the government will make sure no one is hurt.But keep a close watch on bond insurers, such as MBIA and Ambac Assurance.The latter has to file financial statements with US regulators by tonight our time.These troubled insurers are starting to edge back into the news.But also keep a weather eye on commodity markets.Apart from gold, they are looking a bit stressed and being driven more by the weak US dollar than demand.Copper is trading in a stale range and can't break above & #36;US3 a pound, and grains are being hit by the huge harvest in the US.Oil prices should have finished the weak stronger, but they didn't.In terms of risk, it looks like equities are out their on their own now.US shares had a second & #160;straight weekly advance.The & #160;Standard & #38; Poor's 500 Index rose 0.6% Friday to end at 1,093.48.The & #160;Dow gained 73 points, or 0.7%, to 10,270.47. Nasdaq was up 0.9% to 2167The S & #38;P 500 added 2.3% last week, the Dow 2.5%, and Nasdaq 2.6%.The S & #38;P 500 is up 21.1% for the year so far, a vast improvement over last year's 38.5% slump.Since the March lows, & #160;the S & #38;P 500 has jumped 61.6% as of Friday's close.The strong finish Friday night on Wall Street came despite another poor report on US consumer sentiment, with the first reading from the Reuters/University of Michigan survey showing a dip to 66 from 70.6 in October.Markets had been expecting a rise.The dollar fell over the week and wasn't helped by Friday's news that the October trade deficit was much larger than forecast at & #36;US36.5 billion in September; that was up 18% from August's & #36;30 billion.That was the highest trade deficit since January.The 15% fall in the value of the dollar this year is starting to have an impact on imports which were up 5.8%, but not on exports which rose by around 3%.US economists say that & #160;will cut the US third quarter growth estimates to around 3% annual from the first figure of 3.5% (0.9% quarter on quarter).Lower consumer spending will probably see a further trim.The S & #38;P 500 reached its 2009 high on November 11.Meanwhile, according to Thomson Reuters, 80% of S & #38;P 500 companies which have released results exceeded the average analyst estimate for third-quarter earnings per share.Stocks in Europe advanced as the euro region's economy emerged from recession in the third quarter.The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index & #160;rose 2.8% and national & #160;indexes advanced in all 18 western European markets, except Greece and Iceland.The UK's FTSE 100 was up 3% & #160;and France's CAC 40 added 2.7%.Germany's DAX added 3.6%.Asian share markets ended mixed Friday.Japan's Nikkei 225 Average lost 0.4% to 9,770.31.Taiwan's Taiex and South Korea's Kospi gave up 0.1% each.New Zealand's NZX 50 shed 0.4% and Philippines' main index lost 1.3%.Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended up 0.7%. & #160;At the close, the benchmark the ASX 200 index was down 41.5 points for the day, or 0.9%, at 4706.4, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 35.6 points, or 0.7%, to 4722.6.The ASX200 index was up about 2.4% for the week.That was its & #160;first gain in three weeks. & #160;Kathmandu's shares opened at & #36;1.77 on Friday and finished at & #36;1.76, compared with its public offer price of & #36;1.70. & #160;Myer shares have still to reach their issue price of & #36;4.10. & #160;
|
|
|
Sydney
[ Change ]
Today
 Min: 10° Max: 18° Wind easing. Sunny.
Tomorrow
 Min: 11° Max: 19° Shower or two.
Account
Login
To access your account and listings
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Daniel Kertcher established Platinum Pursuits in 2001 as a vehicle in which to share his knowledge of strategies to use the financial markets to grow wealth, with the aim of achieving financial freedom by making your money work for you.
His argument is that until you become financially literate and develop a method where you're able to get a reasonable return on your capital (i.e. making your money work for you), you will instead be forever working hard for your money.
Daniel Kertcher personally achieved financial freedom at a relatively young age, through his knowledge of property and then financial markets investing. Through using Options and leveraged instruments such as CFDs, Daniel developed a system to trade the markets where he could benefit from the leverage when the trade went in the direction he predicted, and hedged his positions so that there was a limited downside risk.
Some people in the past have criticised Daniel's message of striving for financial freedom in a high-risk environment such as trading derivatives. However, it is not Daniel's or Platinum Pursuits' goal to encourage everyone to trade the financial markets. Every kind of investing contains an element of risk, so this level of education is aimed specifically for those who want an understanding of professional trading techniques and strategies that they hope to apply to their own capital, and it is absolutely true that many people are not yet in a position to invest a chunk of their savings.
To be truly financially literate, it can pay to explore all the options available when you are in a position to try to get ahead in life. Daniel currently presents free introductory seminars nationally on selected dates from February to November. |
| |
| | |
Find Hunter Valley accommodation online
|
