It’s a market rally ripple
Following Wall Street's record-setting day yesterday, markets around the world went up, up, up today. But some folks are still worried about the weak dollar and inflation… and one of them might be Ben Bernanke, says money manager David Buik.
TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Doug Krizner: There was a flurry of buying on Wall Street yesterday. The Dow and the S&P each jumped 2 percent and set all-time highs. And the rally is rippling around the world. Asian stocks are at three-month highs. The major markets in Europe are up too. German shares are at record levels and in Britain stocks are rallying. David Buik is a money manager with BGC Partners in London. David were you surprised by the size of yesterday’s move in the U.S.?
David Buik: The resilience is there for all to see. I think it surprised me, the magnitude of it, by the fact that we still haven’t got any real answers on the depth of the subprime mortgage problems and they are clearly greater than perhaps we know about. But the fact remains, at the moment it is about valuation and the number of deals that are coming through on the mergers and acquisition situation. And they are gargantuan, as was expressed yesterday by Rio coming over the top of Alcoa with a huge $40 billion bid for Alcan, and that sets the agenda that a) there’s plenty of money around and rationalization they’re gonna take place in years to come and this is what gives stock markets the impetus.
Krizner: We’ve seen a lot of weakness in the dollar. Given the run-up that we had on Wall Street yesterday, is it likely that the worst for the dollar is behind us?
Buik: No I think that Ben Bernanke is very, very concerned about the level of inflation. I think we need to get through the second quarter earnings with start with a vengeance on Monday to make sure that we do not have a serious problem with subprime mortgages and the fact that it is under control. And also that the economy is improving the way we think it is.
Krizner: David Buik of BGC Partners in London, thanks very much for joining us.
Buik: Great pleasure.