Chancellor Philip Hammond calls for a four-year “soft Brexit” as the UK leaves the EU December 12, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond has backed a transitional period to ease Britain’s exit from the European Union, bringing relief in the Square Mile but exposing a potential split with senior Cabinet colleagues. Hammond said yesterday that “thoughtful politicians” could see the need for a “longer period to manage the adjustment” of leaving the EU. The comments [...]
Mining stocks have finally recovered in step with commodity prices but can the rally continue? December 12, 2016 AS THE political earthquakes of the past few months exact a heavy toll on currencies including sterling, commodities have been a beneficiary. Iron ore prices, for example, have doubled from their January 2016 lows while other base metal prices like zinc have also climbed, up nearly 70 per cent in the year to date. The [...]
UK investors flock to fintech firm BullionVault as gold prices soar December 12, 2016 London fintech group BullionVault attracted a 90 per cent increase in UK gold investors this year and saw annual trading volumes increase by more than a quarter. Market volatility and uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum in June and ahead of the US election in November led gold and silver prices to soar, contributing to a trading [...]
Brent crude oil breaks $57 a barrel as deal with non-Opec producers triggers five per cent rally December 12, 2016 Oil prices shed earlier gains this evening after rallying more than five per cent during the day, as markets digested a landmark pact between oil producing countries and cartel Opec. Global benchmark Brent crude briefly rose above $57 a barrel for the first time since July 2015 in morning trading. This evening it was trading up [...]
UK video startup Newsflare lands £2.4m December 12, 2016 Newsflare, a British media startup, has landed a multimillion pound cash injection from a young investment fund aimed at boosting the country's creative industries. The £2.4m fresh funding comes from Edge Investments' Creative Enterprise Fund and will help the three-year-old startup's expansion. Read more: The Memo proves investors still like media startups, with six-digit funding The Newsflare platform connects user [...]
13 years of returns: history’s lesson for investors December 12, 2016 | City Talk There is no guaranteed route to success when it comes to investing, but the data below illustrates why it is important not to hold all your eggs in one basket. 13 years of asset class performances A widely-held belief is that shares deliver the best returns over the very long term, at least among the [...]
Santa’s naughty list could well be shorter this year as coal demand waning and growth set to stall for next five years December 12, 2016 Waning appetite from key consuming nations and swift growth in other sources of energy will stall global demand for coal over the next five years, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). (Though maybe it's just that so few children were naughty this year that coal's no longer needed…) Coal demand fell last year for [...]
The Memo proves investors still like media startups, landing six-digit funding December 12, 2016 London-based media startup The Memo has landed a new round of funding for international expansion, proving investor appetite for media despite the well-documented struggles of established print media. The more than quarter of a million pounds in cash comes as the 18-month-old online tech publication turned a profit for the first time. Investors ploughing in £280,000 [...]
Aim liquidity rises by nine per cent over last year to shrug off Brexit uncertainty December 12, 2016 The average value of shares trading daily on London’s Aim market has risen over the last year, despite uncertainty following the UK’s decision to leave the EU. Liquidity on the UK’s junior market increased by nine per cent year on year, according to data from accountants UHY Hacker Young. The average daily value of shares [...]
London’s floats market sinks on political shocks December 12, 2016 The London IPO market will end the year on a subdued note, with total proceeds expected to be down by around 60 per cent compared to this time last year. According to PwC’s latest IPO survey the London market raised £5.3bn across 60 floats throughout the year, averaging proceeds of £121m per listing. The picture [...]