Monthly Archives: December 2014

Will Raising Interest Rates Help Russia?

Everyone must have heard that the Russian central bank has raised interest rates once again. Chairman of the Russian central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, announced that her organization would step in again if the ruble continued to cause trouble. Her words did become reality. Interest rates in Russia have been raised from 10.5 to 17 percent,…

Morning Call For December 31, 2014

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS March E-mini S&Ps (ESH15 +0.13%) this morning are up +0.12% and European stocks are up +0.25% in thin holiday trade. Many European equity markets close early today and U.S. and all European markets will be closed tomorrow for New Year’s day. Greek sovereign-debt risks remain elevated as the Greek 10-year bond yield…

Oil Prices Drop; U.S. Supplies Rise

Crude oil continued its fall, heading for its worst year since 2008 amid speculation that reports of U.S. stockpiles today will fuel concern over a global supply glut. Asian stocks climbed while nickel and aluminum gained. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2 percent to $53.49 a barrel by 1:32 p.m. in Hong Kong, slipping for the fourth…

Dollar Slips At End Of Year

The US dollar is trading with a slightly heavier bias as the last minute position adjustment takes a toll. The dollar-bloc and Scandi’s are doing somewhat better, sterling is a few ticks higher, while the euro and yen are straddling yesterday’s closing levels in the moribund activity. Several markets in Asia, including Japan and Korea, and…

Technology In 2014, Part 5: The Courtroom Drama

<< Read Technology in 2014, Part 4:  Is China Calling The Shots? << Read Part 3: IPOs Galore << Read Part 2: M&As To Make Or Break Companies << Read Part 1: Collaborations Rule The Day Technology companies fought hard in court all through the year, defending themselves against patent infringements, illegal actions, dishonoring agreements, wage-fixing charges and regulatory pressure. HP-Autonomy…

Will Indexers (And ETFs) Falter In 2015?

If there is one thing that I have been seeing more of than “2015 predictions”, it’s the notion that indexes will suffer next year. The theory being that quantitative easing and a flight to benchmarking have lifted the major indices to all-time levels. Active managers and stock pickers have been left out in the cold…

“Easiest-to-fly” Drone Makes Raising Money Look Easy, Closing On ...

Photo Credit: PR – Ehang Ghost drone Ehang, the Chinese startup that claims to make the world’s easiest-to-fly personal drone, announced today it secured US$10 million in series A funding led by GGV Capital. Angel investors Xu Xiaoping and Nick Yang and early stage fund PreAngel also participated. Ehang’s flagship quadcopter, the Ghost Drone, has raised…