The FTSE 100 comes under pressure
The UK stock market, after an encouraging start to 2010, is today under pressure amid concerns that the UK economy may well slip back into recession in the short term. After hitting a peak of just under 5500 in mid-January the market now stand at around 5275 with some investors concerned about the short-term outlook for UK stocks and shares.
Whether this is just a short-term correction after a relatively strong start to 2010 remains to be seen but a number of revelations over the last few days is not helping investor confidence. The original founder of Pimco, one of the largest bond traders in the world, yesterday suggested the UK was an area to avoid and the country was "sitting on a bed of nitroglycerine" which is the enormous debt that has been built up in recent months.
A number of observers had suggested that the recovery in the UK stock market was fragile to say the least and with the market down by around 70 points this morning these concerns appear to be coming to fruition. However, as we have seen over the last few months, investor confidence and investor sentiment can literally turn on a sixpence and with potential merger, takeover and other corporate activity on the horizon who knows how investors will react?
Share this..
Related stories
Vodafone Announce £1 Billion Share Buy Back
In a move which is as much about good investment as it is about showing confidence in the future, Vodafone has announced a £1 billion share buy back program which will see the group buy shares in the open market for cancellation. By reducing the number of shares in issue this will push the earning per share figure higher and if it all goes to plan should see support appear at of around current l...
Read MoreGold surges to $1040 an ounce
Today's announcement that the gold price reached an all-time high of $1040 an ounce has seen more and more investors looking towards this valuable commodity. At this moment in time it would appear that opinion is fairly split between further progress for the gold price and short-term weakness. However, much of the short to medium term performance of the price of gold will depend on the worldwide e...
Read MoreIs EMI in imminent danger of collapse?
Music giant EMI is on the verge of collapse after announcing pre-tax losses of £1.75 billion for the current year. The company was acquired by Terra Firma, the investment vehicle of Guy Hands, who is a well respected investor in the City. However, his acquisition of EMI has turned sour with the company on the verge of breaking banking covenants and in danger of being taken over by the banks. G...
Read MoreNew Star Asset Management on verge of rescue deal
John Duffield appears to be on the verge of announcing a rescue package for his New Star Asset Management group which will see the shares delisted from the stock exchange and deem the ordinary shares effectively worthless. In exchange for writing off much of the £240 million debt burden currently carried by the business, the likes of HBOS, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and National Aus...
Read MoreLord Myners attacked by City leaders
Leaders of some of the U.K.'s largest banks, financial institutions and investment funds are now calling for Lord Myners, the UK government minister for the City, to become more active in pushing through his new proposals rather than lecturing the City on a daily basis. Those who follow the financial markets in the UK will be well aware that Lord Myners has issued many new initiatives, comments an...
Read More