Novartis launches $5bn share buyback and mulls spin-off of eyecare business Alcon January 25, 2017 Novartis may spin off its struggling Alcon eye care business as it looks at ways to boost growth The Swiss drugmaker also plans to buy back up to $5bn (£4bn) of shares over the next year in a bid to return to growth by 2018. Alcon has slumped to a $120m loss as fourth-quarter sales dipped. Novartis could consider floating, [...]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average breaks 20,000 for the first time as the Trump trade continues January 25, 2017 The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has broken through the 20,000-point mark for the first time ever, crossing a symbolic line only a year after falling below 16,000. The index has surged over 2016, with the election of Donald Trump prompting a massive increase in US share prices in the last two months of 2017. [...]
This Aim-listed x-ray firm is set to raise £21m January 25, 2017 Aim-listed radiation detection tech firm Kromek has raised £21m through a conditional firm placing and open offer. The firm placing of 100m shares at 20p apiece was over-subscribed with new and existing institutional investors in the company taking part. At the time of writing, Kromek's share price rose by nearly seven per cent. Kromek provides digital colour x-ray [...]
I can see clearly now: Sterling jumps to six-week high against the dollar January 25, 2017 The pound jumped to within spitting distance of $1.26 this morning, its highest in six weeks, as investors heralded a new age of certainty following yesterday's Article 50 decision. The pound touched $1.2596 in morning trading, 0.6 per cent higher, while it rose 0.4 per cent against the euro to €1.1717. Although sterling dipped yesterday [...]
Pay-as-you-go insurtech startup Cuvva has raised cash from a top VC January 25, 2017 A fintech startup offering motorists flexible pay-as-you-go insurance by the hour as landed new investment from one of the UK's top venture capitalists. London-based Cuvva has landed £1.5m seed capital from Robin Klein's LocalGlobal, a backer of Zoopla and Citmapper, to target urban drivers who use their cars infrequently and tapping into the same habits which [...]
Supreme Court ruling pushes sterling down despite forcing Parliamentary vote January 24, 2017 The Supreme Court’s decision to force the government to allow a vote on triggering Article 50 has provided scant consolation to the pound, which has extended losses in volatile trading. Sterling fell to lows of $1.2438 against the US dollar at the time of publication in response to the ruling. It had risen sharply ahead [...]
Oil prices have slipped as increased US production overshadows Opec cuts January 24, 2017 Oil prices have dropped after initially rising this morning as US production growth overshadows Opec's promised production cuts. This morning, global benchmark Brent crude futures were up more than one per cent to $55.82 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased to $53.29 before both fell slightly towards the afternoon. Currently, Brent crude is trading at $55.37 per barrel [...]
Will ‘value investors’ win in 2017? January 24, 2017 | City Talk Value investing, the discipline made famous by the legendary investor Benjamin Graham in the 1930s and 1940s, fell out of favour after the global financial crisis. Investors have instead preferred to pay a premium for more dependable stocks rather than back those unloved by the market. That trend may be turning around. What is value [...]
Hedge funds struggle against equities as investors look for stability rather than outsized returns January 24, 2017 Hedge funds struggled to keep pace with equity markets over the course of 2016, with an average return significantly lower than benchmark indices. Average hedge fund returns for 2016 hit 7.4 per cent over the course of 2016, according to data from Preqin and the Alternative Investment Management Association (Aima). That performance was the highest [...]
Sterling pushed higher by dollar weakness as Donald Trump fails to reassure investors January 23, 2017 The pound has risen to a one-month high against the dollar as traders failed to be reassured by US President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech. On Monday he pulled the US out of the major Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal with multiple Pacific-rim countries. The pound rose by almost one per cent in intraday trading on Monday. [...]