Bitcoin sceptic Jamie Dimon launches JP Morgan’s own cryptocurrency February 14, 2019 JP Morgan is to launch its own cryptocurrency in an unprecedented step for a major US bank. The bank is to trial its JPM Coin in the coming months, which will handle a tiny fraction of the $6 trillion (£4.7 trillion) in payments it moves around globally every day. Read more: The year crypto went [...]
Turbulence and tailwinds: how savers can seek returns and save the planet February 14, 2019 Isa season is upon us. With just a few weeks left to go before the end of the 2018/19 tax year, canny savers are scrambling to use up their tax-free allowance before the 6 April deadline. The task became more of a challenge this year after the government, in a bid to bolster Britain’s savings culture, [...]
Shares in medical device company Convatec fall 20 per cent on ‘disappointing’ results February 14, 2019 Shares in medical products company Convatec plunged 20 per cent this morning after it unveiled a “disappointing” set of 2018 results. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) fell six per cent year-on-year to $429.4m (£334.5m), despite a 3.8 per cent increase of reported revenue to $1.832bn. Its Ebit margin was 23.4 per cent, down [...]
Italian football club Juventus enlist Morgan Stanley to help in €175m bonds sale February 13, 2019 Italian footballing giants Juventus have ramped up their efforts to raise money after paying €100m to buy Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, issuing bonds to investors. The club originally planned to offer €150m (£131.4m) worth of bonds maturing in around five years at a 3.5 per cent yield, but Morning Wire understands this has increased to €175m. Read more: [...]
Five charts to gauge the environment for equities February 13, 2019 | City Talk Stock markets wax and wane. The period of time in which they move from a state of expansion (bull market) to one of contraction (bear market), before expanding again is known as the “market cycle”. Last year was an extremely difficult one for stock markets, prompting much commentary as to which ones had “corrected” (falls [...]
Government blocks Cuadrilla from fracking at second site in Lancashire February 12, 2019 British fracking was dealt another blow today as the government blocked Cuadrilla’s attempts to open a new drilling site in Lancashire. Local government secretary James Brokenshire said he would not overturn the local council’s decision to refuse planning permission at the Roseacre Wood site. Read more: Cuadrilla's request for earthquake review falls on deaf ears [...]
US market braces itself for US-China trade talks February 12, 2019 | City Talk This week marks a resumption of trade talks between China and the US, so expect to see movement on the US equity markets as the headlines hit. Preliminary talks began on Monday and saw the US team fly to Beijing to try and close the gap – and tension – between the two nations when [...]
The UK’s fintech sector hits record level of investment as startups turn into scale-ups February 12, 2019 Investment into the UK's blossoming fintech sector broke records last year, as the country's startups reached a new stage in their growth journey. Venture capital and private equity investment in British fintech rose to an all-time high of $3.3bn (£2.6bn), up 18 per cent compared to 2017's levels, according to data published today by Innovate Finance. [...]
Should investors be worried about a EU turn in the Eurozone’s economic prospects? February 12, 2019 As the Eurozone’s largest economy, Germany usually acts as a bellwether for the rest of the bloc. So the European Commission’s decision to downgrade the country’s growth forecasts last Thursday is a worrying sign for the other euro nations. Expectations for GDP growth in Germany were cut to 1.1 per cent for 2019, down from the [...]
Plus500 shares plunge 30 per cent as broker warns of 2019 earnings hit February 12, 2019 Plus500's share price collapsed in early trading despite almost doubling profits in 2018, as it issued a major profit warning for the current year. The online broker's stock fell by as much as 36 per cent in early trading, from 1,635p at yesterday's close to 1,053p this morning, as it warned that stricter regulations will [...]