The emergence of micropayments and impact of cryptocurrencies October 16, 2018 | Sponsored Micropayments, generally understood as payments with a value less than £10, predate the advent of the Internet as they were initially conceived to pay the various copyright holders for compound work. Thereafter, several systems were proposed and developed in the mid-to-late nineties, all of which ultimately had little commercial success. A key problem that prevented [...]
Has the clampdown on spreadbetting platforms really protected traders? October 16, 2018 For years, spreadbetting companies enjoyed an easy ride. But this summer saw trading platforms enter a tough new era, as regulators began to weigh down on the industry. Recent weeks have seen some of the UK’s largest trading platforms bowing under the pressure, as the impact of strict new rules becomes clear. Introduced by the European [...]
Talk of a US recession in 2020 is a little premature October 16, 2018 Several analysts have come out of the woodwork in the past few weeks predicting not just a US growth slowdown, but the start of a recession in 2020. These calls were amplified after a week of stock market volatility. Bond vigilantes are pointing to rising real yields (that have been adjusted for inflation), while bear [...]
Fracking begins in the UK for the first time in seven years amid protests October 15, 2018 Fracking has begun in the UK for the first time since 2011 when it was halted after being linked with earth tremors. British shale gas company Cuadrilla confirmed today that it has started hydraulic fracturing operations at its exploration site in Lancashire The road leading to the site was closed for most of the day [...]
Supermarket chain announces $300m London float plans in first overseas Belarusian listing October 11, 2018 Grocery chain Eurotorg today announced plans to float on the London Stock Exchange in what would be a first overseas listing for a Belarusian business. Eurotorg is the largest grocery chain in Belarus with a market share of approximately 19 per cent of the food retail market. The float will mark the first overseas listing [...]
FAANGs out: Tech stocks set to continue slide after losing $172bn in a single day October 11, 2018 Yesterday's $172bn (£130bn) tech stocks slide is set to worsen today, as pre-market trading indicates each of the so-called FAANG companies could stand to lose further value. Amazon was the worst hit overnight, losing an additional 2.24 per cent on top of yesterday's 6.15 per cent slide which wiped around $56bn off its market capitalisation. Apple [...]
Leaseplan cancels planned float as stock markets wobble October 11, 2018 Car leasing group Leaseplan today announced it was cancelling its planned initial public offering (IPO) just a week after confirming its float plans. The private equity-backed company, which has a market capitalisation of more than €6bn (£5.2bn), blamed market conditions for its decision. Leaseplan said last week that it was planning to float on the [...]
Bitcoin may take years to regulate, but does not pose risk to global stability October 11, 2018 Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin do not pose a risk to financial stability, but need to be monitored, while the government may take two years to regulate the sector, two new reports have warned. City-headquartered law firm RPC said any government regulation could take a long time to come into force. Based on past extensions of the [...]
Litigation funder Vannin Capital pulls London float blaming market conditions October 10, 2018 Litigation funder Vannin Capital has cancelled its London initial public offering (IPO) blaming market volatility. Vannin, which finances litigation for businesses and law firms in exchange for a slice of any settlement, announced its intention to float last month. Market sources said the projected float could have valued the business at up to £1bn. Read [...]
Heed the history and beware Saudis floating oil companies October 10, 2018 Will they? Won’t they? I’m thinking about whether or not the Saudis will go ahead and float a sliver of their gigantic state oil company, Aramco, on the stock market. Reuters said in August that King Salman had vetoed the idea. But in an interview with Bloomberg published last Friday, his son, Crown Prince Mohammed, [...]