Should you invest in India? Inside the last major emerging market left standing October 1, 2015 Shifting fortunes in emerging markets mean India is now standing out as more investable than the rest. The last two years have seemed like a new dawn for investors in India. The country elected reformist candidate Narendra Modi as its new Prime Minister in May last year and experts around the world cheered his [...]
All that glitters: Should you buy diamonds as an investment? October 1, 2015 Diamonds have fascinated humans for millennia, and their cultural importance as symbols of wealth, endurance and love is almost unshakeable. Wealthy people the world over desire diamonds. And they have historically been good investments too. Between the start of 2006 and 2011, one carat diamonds increased in value by 46 per cent, according to the [...]
Brewdog sets record with £10m crowdfunding campaign October 1, 2015 Brewdog, one of the UK's first craft beer brewers, has raised £10m through a crowdfunding initiative, the company said today – setting a world record for the biggest equity crowdfunded project in the world. That surpasses the previous record of $6m (£4m) by more than 50 per cent. This isn't the first time the company, [...]
Who backs crowdfunding campaigns? Investors are male, young and have university degrees October 1, 2015 The average crowdfunder is a university-educated man in his late twenties, according to alternative finance specialist Choice Loans, which has crunched the numbers on where crowdfunding investors are coming from and what they back. Crowdfunding is booming, no question about that. Campaigns grew by a staggering 420 per cent last year. But who’s backing them, [...]
Crowdfunding: Enter the disruptive finance revolution October 1, 2015 The funding situation for British startups has changed irrevocably since the global financial crisis. Equity crowdfunding has quickly become an important funding mechanism for many small businesses and is now a major part of the UK’s entrepreneurial finance landscape. Currently valued at £146m in 2015, this is almost double the figure for 2014, and [...]
Pension lobby calls for flat rate tax changes October 1, 2015 Pensions savers could soon see a single rate of tax relief if industry proposals come into force. Last night, the government closed its consultation on how pensions should be taxed, after providers were invited to put forward their concerns. Pensions experts have called for a single level of tax to replace the current, tiered [...]
McKinsey warns banks that fintech startups and alternative finance pose threat to traditional banking’s profits September 30, 2015 McKinsey has warned banks that fintech startups are a threat to traditional banking’s profits, giving them a choice: fight them or join them. London’s fintech hubs are booming, with over 12,000 startups disrupting financial services with products that are often cheaper for customers. This poses a real threat to banks' profits, according to a report [...]
World view September 29, 2015 From capital flight to monetary wobbles, we highlight the figures that matter from around the world UNITED STATES 13 of 17 FOMC members predict a Fed rate rise in 2015. $1 trillion Total US car loans outstanding reached a record level, rising by $119bn in the second quarter. SOUTH AMERICA Junk S&P’s rating of Brazil [...]
What Jeremy Corbyn means for investors September 29, 2015 Jeremy Corbyn is unlikely to become Prime Minister. Polling by ORB found that one in five Labour voters at the last General Election would switch to the Conservatives because of Corbyn. His net approval ratings are also dire: at minus 18 per cent, according to YouGov. At the same point after he was elected Labour [...]
Animal Spirits Poland is Europe’s economic star. Will politics derail it? September 29, 2015 Each month John Hulsman examines under-appreciated opportunities around the world, uncovering markets that it would be easy to overlook A few years ago, I remember leaving a wonderfully Hapsburgian café in Warsaw with a good friend of mine, an expert in the terribly sad history of Central and Eastern Europe. While I was enthusing about [...]