Independent Investor

UK GDP figures have shown a shrink of 0.2% over the final quarter of 2011 as the Eurozone debt crisis continues to pose problems for European economies, enabling spread betting traders more opportunities to profit from macroeconomic trends.
The UK economy shrunk by 0.2% in the final quarter of 2011, according to official figures released by the Office for National Statistics, which some analysts are suggesting could help spread betting traders identify alternative opportunities to profit from the markets.
The figures reflected a 0.9% growth in the economy through the year 2011, …

The euro fell to a year-and-a-half low on Friday, with analysts expecting an even further fall over the remainder of Q1 following the decision by Standard and Poor’s to downgrade the ratings of nine Eurozone countries over persistent concerns over the strength of the single currency and ongoing pressures on significant economies including Greece.
The euro has been subject to weak trading, falling to its lowest level against the dollar in a year and a half in light of the impact of S&P’s decision to downgrade French debt, in addition to …

The US trade deficit increased by over 10.4% in November as a result of record imports fuelled by strong demand for foreign manufactured goods and the high cost of importing oil after another year of strong oil prices, marking the first growth in the trade gap in five months.
The US trade deficit increased in November by 10.4%, the first growth in the deficit in five months as a consequence of higher imports and import costs and weaker exports on previous months.
According to US Commerce Department figures, the trade deficit grew …

France has lost its AAA credit rating, along with several other European economies afflicted by ongoing concerns about the viability of the Eurozone at credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, leading to higher borrowing costs for servicing already burgeoning national debts.
France has become the latest casualty of the ongoing Eurozone crisis after credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) downgraded the French AAA credit rating, leading to a rise in borrowing costs and the costs of servicing the national debt.
The decision will lead to more significant borrowing costs for the …

The Swiss stock exchange was plagued by technical issues on Friday morning, leading to a delay in access to some of the most commonly traded markets of up to 3 hours- the latest in a series of technical glitches, giving rise to calls for more robust trading infrastructure across the industry as a response to growing trade volumes.

Trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange was subject to a lengthy delay on Friday morning, following a significant technical issue which affected trading across some of the country’s largest companies and most …