The end of the road for monetary policy? With a strong yen and negative interest rates doing little to boost Japan’s economy, could helicopter money be the answer? April 26, 2016 Since the financial crisis, developed economies have turned to central banks as their only hope for stimulating demand. Trillions have been spent buying government bonds, interest rates have been kept at record lows and credit remains cheap. And still, growth in GDP, prices and wages is elusive. When the Bank of Japan (BoJ) meets on Thursday to decide its next [...]
Sell in May and go away? Why some hedge funds are looking forward to this summer April 26, 2016 Some investors swear by the well-known adage “Sell in May and go away”, given that it’s a month that can bring low trading volumes, thin liquidity and, even worse, a stock market sell-off that permeates over the summer. Will this year be any different? Is it worth just going on holiday until St Leger Day, [...]
Smaller firms fail to plug hole in the FTSE left by big oil, big mining, and big finance one year on from record high April 25, 2016 Despite a FTSE fightback over the last few months, the blue-chip index remains well off its record close high of 7,103.98 set almost a year ago on 27 April 2015. Since February the FTSE 100 has added around 700 points after sinking as far as 5,536.97. It's now under 1,000 points of its high, but the recent rally already [...]
BP, Shell, Chevron and Exxon brace for worst reporting season yet April 25, 2016 It's about to go from bad to worse when BP publishes its first quarter results tomorrow, kicking off what analysts expect to be oil majors' worst reporting season yet. Analysts expect the firm to post a loss of 10 cents per share for the first quarter of 2016, on an anticipated revenue drop of 26 per cent. It [...]
Saudi Aramco set to be valued at more than $2 trillion as Saudi Arabia confirms five per cent stake sale April 25, 2016 Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's state owned oil company, will be valued at over $2 trillion (£1.38 trillion) when less than five per cent of the company is sold through an initial public offering. The valuation would make it the most valuable company in the world, over taking Apple which has a market capitalisation of $607bn. The [...]
Cinven in talks to buy Tui’s €1bn Hotelbeds online booking business April 25, 2016 Private equity firm Cinven is reported to be advanced talks to buy travel company Tui AG's online booking business Hotelbeds, in a deal that could fetch up to €1bn (£780m). Hotelbeds provides rooms to travel agencies, tour operators and airlines through a database of more than 75,000 hotels worldwide. It was put up for sale last year after Tui hired Deutsche [...]
Premier Oil share price rises after shareholders give green light to E.On deal April 25, 2016 Premier Oil shareholders have given the green light to its acquisition of E.On's North Sea oil and gas fields for $120m (£83m). The London-listed company said today that 99.9 per cent of shareholders who voted were in favour of the tie-up. Premier will now snap up assets located in the central North Sea, west of Shetlands and the southern [...]
EU referendum: Pound hits a 10-week high against the US Dollar after President Barack Obama’s Brexit warning April 25, 2016 Barack Obama’s visit to the UK may have annoyed Leave campaigners, but it did wonders for the pound which has hit a 10-week high on back of the President’s plea for Britain to stay in the European Union. The pound was trading at $1.4495 on Monday morning, up 0.64 per cent on the day and one per [...]
Fitch warns steel prices are about to fall even lower in the near-term April 25, 2016 Fitch has warned steel prices will fall even lower in the near-term, as Indian conglomerate Tata Steel desperately searches for a buyer of its Port Talbot steelworks. Low prices have played a key role in the crisis gripping Britain’s steel industry, leading to the closures of steelworks and thousands of job losses up and down the country. [...]
Who is Nan Shepherd? All your questions about Royal Bank of Scotland’s new £5 note star answered April 25, 2016 Much ooh-ing and ahh-ing this morning, after Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) unveiled the next "character" to feature on its Scottish £5 note: Nan Shepherd. Er, who? The news came just days after the Bank of England revealed which superstar artist will appear on its next £20 note – but led to a bit of confusion among those not [...]