Global Capital. Clear Intelligence.
Aaron There’s no question: The energy market is hot. Since the beginning of 2004, oil prices have soared more than 50%, while natural-gas prices have lingered well above historical averages. Likewise, energy stocks have posted dramatic returns as expected future cash flows have risen. Naturally, our energy stock valuations are highly contingent upon the oil and … Read more
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has five priorities for improving the funds industry, topped by growing the hedge funds market, says Alexa Lam, executive director of intermediaries and investment products. The authorized (retail) hedge funds industry in Hong Kong is small, but this belies the true size of the industry here, Lam says. Although … Read more
January is the time to take your view for the year, and most of my conversations with Wall Street players (or “playaz”,depending on their self-image) in recent weeks have consisted of exchanging guesses about the macro prospects. Of course, one 12-month period should be not be different from any other but the outcome at the … Read more
The year just ended was a good one for exchange-traded funds. ETF assets grew by 47% to $222 billion, according to current figures in Morningstar’s database. ETF purveyors launched dozens of funds, including groundbreaking gold and China offerings. The industry also buzzed with talk of creating other commodity-linked and even actively managed ETFs. Here’s a … Read more
An economic drama is playing out as you read this, one whose next act is about to unfold. It began quietly enough on Thursday, Jan. 6, when the U.S. Department of Labor issued its weekly report on first-time unemployment-insurance claims. It found that 364,000 workers filed initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending … Read more
Accounting firm KPMG has released the latest set of findings from its Isle of Man Business Barometer, which indicate that business in the jurisdiction continued to see improved performance during the third quarter of 2004. “The encouraging trends from the first half of the year are continuing, with over 85% of business reporting steady or … Read more
Moving abroad can be a daunting process, and for many expatriates, finding a safe home and tax advantages for their savings is a top priority. Most high street banks in the UK have offshore subsidiaries that can provide a range of accounts tailored to suit the needs of expatriates, combining competitive rates of interest with … Read more
By Michael Peltz – In September 1998, Philip Duff left the security of his job as head of Morgan Stanley’s mutual fund group to become chief operating officer at Tiger Management LLC, the hedge fund firm run by Julian Robertson. On one day, during Duff’s second week on the job, Tiger lost more than $2 … Read more
HONG KONG -The Hong Kong government has issued a new proposal on exempting offshore funds from paying profits tax in a bid to maintain the territory’s status as an international financial center. The new proposal, crafted by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, seeks to exempt non-Hong Kong residents from paying profits tax on … Read more