Yesterday US homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen accused the Chinese mobile phone giant of 13 indictments, including espionage and Iran sanctions violations. Its CFO, currently held in Canada and awaiting extradition proceedings, is accused of wire fraud, conspiracy and obstructing justice. Needless to say, the Chinese have retaliated calling the case ‘unfair’. Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed it is looking into executive remuneration at Japanese car firm Nissan.
Reporting yesterday both Caterpillar and Nvidia blamed the economic slow-down in China for missing forecast profits. Shares in both companies fell sharply in New York. Apple reports today and, in an unlucky twist, it was announced yesterday that its FaceTime function has a bug that can let you hear other people’s conversations even if they haven’t answered their iPhone.
DAX 30
Inconclusive price action as the commodity channel index keeps trying to turn down.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Square.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
FTSE 100
Momentum’s been bearish since last week as we prepare to re-test the bottom of the massive broadening top formation. From Southwark Crown Court come stories of how Barclays top brass reacted during the financial crisis. In a recorded phone call Roger Jenkins tells Richard Boath, ‘’John [Varley] is scared to death that the government will turn up tomorrow morning…and Bob [Diamond] is f***ing paranoid’’. Meanwhile he says he was ‘’panicking that we were about to get nationalised…[and] they wouldn’t look kindly on compensation over a million dollars’’.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Short at 6905; stop above 7005. First target 6600.
POSITION TAKER: Short at 6895; stop above 7045. First target 6600, and then probably an awful lot more.
S&P 500
After the initial spurt bullish momentum has ebbed away completely over this month.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Short at 2666; stop well above 2700. First target 2450.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
BRITISH POUND/US DOLLAR
Momentum remains quite bullish despite yesterday’s small pullback. Another vote in parliament this evening and we’ll see how things go.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Square.
POSITION TAKER: Long at 1.2860; stop below 1.3000. Target 1.3250.
EURO/US DOLLAR
Back inside the 1.1300 to 1.1500 range – or should that be 1.1300 to 1.1600?
SHORT TERM TRADER: Square.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
GOLD
Now I really don’t know what to do. Meanwhile shares in Petra Diamonds fell 20 per cent yesterday as it reported that like-for-like diamond prices fell 4 per cent.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Stopped out at last – and again!
POSITION TAKER: Square.
