Forex and Stock Market News

After a disastrous couple of years which saw the oil price fall below $35 a barrel we have seen a partial recovery to the current level of $55 amid speculation that hedge funds are banking on a significant recovery. Regulatory data seems to indicate that the net long position on oil is at its highest since 2014 suggesting hedge fund managers believe the recent announcements by OPEC will result in a reduction in the current glut of oil.

Net positive position

Official exchange data has confirmed an ever-growing bullish outlook for the oil price with the equivalent of a net 820 million barrels now “in the hands of speculators”. To put this in layman’s terms, 820 million barrels equates to 9 days global consumption of the black gold. This latest positive move will go down well with the UK authorities where the net tax take from oil fields in the North Sea has fallen to zero. Indeed, if you count the various tax incentives and decommissioning assistance the net income from the North Sea is now negative. Continue reading “Hedge funds speculate on oil price recovery”

Those who trade stocks on a regular basis will likely have come across the term “it is better to travel than arrive”. On the surface it seems a little bizarre, suggesting that investors are better off jumping ship before an expected announcement which could impact a company share price. However, there is a sensible angle to this quote which will perfectly illustrate why it is better to travel than arrive.

Rumours, counter rumours and more rumours

As we have mentioned on numerous occasions, if you view stock markets as information exchanges then they will take into account public information and “inside information”. Whether we like it or not, inside information does find its way into the stock market and can impact the price of company shares on a regular basis. The regulators will suggest this is wrong, the politicians will suggest this does not happen but just take a look at the performance of share prices just prior to potentially game changing announcements. Continue reading “Why is it better to travel than arrive?”

If there is one movie which epitomises the 1980s and the booming stock markets it is the first instalment of “Wall Street”. The main character, who perfectly reflected the “greed is good” mantra at the time, was played by Michael Douglas who had the starring role of Gordon Gekko. Critics suggest that the movie glamorised the villains and the crooks of the time but in reality it was a perfect reflection of what was going on.

Traders and investors were living life to the full, pushing the boundaries and many of them were making significant amounts of money. One question which is often asked, was Gordon Gekko based on a real character on Wall Street? Continue reading “Was Gordon Gekko based on a real Wall Street character?”