US News

GDP figures revised down. Real gross domestic product, the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States, increased in the United States at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2013 (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to the “second” […]

Global recovery is uneven but gradual. The global economy is moving forward, but divergence between countries and regions reflects the uneven progress made toward recovery from the economic crisis, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook. Historically high unemployment remains the most serious challenge facing governments. World real gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to […]

Don’t even bother to check the five-year charts for AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN).  If you want to see the big picture, you have to go back more than twice that amount of time to see that the AZN’s share price reached an 11 year high today as is soared by 107.50 pence (3.14%) to 3537.00 this morning. […]

A roller-coaster ride for markets this week and a perfect example of how important central bank communication (read US Federal Reserve) has become and how markets can move indiscriminately on changes in sentiment regarding the future of the highly accommodative monetary policy  (read Fed’s QE3), something that has supported the global rally and recovery hopes […]

While the investment world focuses on Japan today, the news at JP Morgan has failed to make the make the headlines it would have on any almost other day.  The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has levied a fine of £3,076,200 “for systems and control failings related to its provision of retail investment advice and portfolio investment services” […]

Do you remember what you were doing 13 years ago?  Probably still breathing a sigh of relief that the Y2K computer software issue didn’t really exist.  And, hey, things were looking good.  The key stock indicators looked great.  It was the start of a whole new millennium.  What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot […]

Is it possible that BP (LSE:BP.) could be in deep water again?  Given the company’s activities over the past several years, including those minor headaches in the Gulf of Mexico and with their joint ventures with Russian oligarchs, it seems almost inevitable.  This time BP has reportedly been in cahoots with Royal Dutch Shell (LSE:RDSA) […]

Internet giant promises not to “screw it up” Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Tumblr have announced that they have reached an agreement for Yahoo! to purchase micro-blogging site Tumblr for $1.1bn. Per the agreement and their promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business. David Karp will remain […]

Tableau Software Celebrates Public Debut as “DATA” on the New York Stock Exchange Tableau Software, Inc., a provider of business analytics software, opened for trading today on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “DATA” after its initial public offering. The company’s stock opened on the NYSE at $47, up 52% from […]

This week’s hurdle proved more resilient, the FTSE100 index struggling to gain traction above 6,700, but we have made much progress. The move up from 6,600 was faster than expected, however, limited gains above 6710/15 for much of the week, all the while with support just 45pts below, suggests we may have had the sideways […]