Excerpt from: Financial Spread Betting Strategies
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| December 12, 2006 | | Possibilities for spread bets continue to be positive | The world economy is looking generally good, according to the Bank for International Settlements. With bankers upbeat on world financial markets in general, a good spread betting strategy includes, well, spread betting. From stock markets to currencies to bonds, placing financial spread bets can be profitable. The New Zealand Herald reports:
Markets have largely recovered from a broad-based
sell-off in May and June and investors have a high appetite for risk,
the Basel-based bank said in its quarterly survey of international
banking and financial market developments. "While
at times sending mixed signals, markets appeared to be largely
optimistic about global economic prospects and the likelihood of a soft
landing for the US economy," it said about the past three months'
trading activity. ...
Government bond yields in the United States, euro
zone and Japan bottomed out in September and have since been
range-bound, driven in part by reduced inflation expectations. The
BIS said: "The sharp fall in oil prices in September and October seemed
to play a key role for developments in break-even inflation rates in
major markets," and the effect was most noted for the US and shorter
maturities. Share prices moved independently of bonds, the report said. In
the euro zone and Japan, price moves mirrored changes in economic
growth, while in the US, traders took consolation from the limited
effect that the broader economic slowdown was having on corporate
profits. Takeover activity also supported prices. | | |
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