Why I’m calling for a £15bn National Renewal Fund to support growing businesses October 27, 2020 Some 90 years ago, a government committee set up to examine the health of the British economy identified a persistent shortfall in funding for small and medium-sized businesses. This shortfall was termed the Macmillan Gap — named not after the politician but after the Scottish lawyer, Hugh Macmillan, who chaired the committee. As the saying [...]
Three factors behind the rise of the retail trader in 2020 October 26, 2020 | City Talk 2020 has seen global financial markets such as equities and foreign exchange (FX) being moved by an army of retail traders, in a manner we have not seen previously. Their influence is here to stay, writes Brendan Callan. It’s a cliché frequently used to describe the events of this year, but 2020 has not been [...]
Barcelona’s strategy to attract foreign tech investment, second best in Europe October 26, 2020 | Sponsored The number of foreign tech companies in Catalonia grew by 21% in 2020 reaching 1,369 The fDi Intelligence division of the ‘Financial Times’ group together with The Next Web – one of the leading European media and companies in the field of technology and startups – recognise Barcelona and Catalonia’s strategy to attract foreign technological [...]
Could your savings save the planet? October 26, 2020 When Covid-19 upended our lives in March, Rishi Sunak became the hero of the hour by emptying the Treasury’s coffers to support the jobless and keep our economy afloat. It was the kind of quick-thinking fiscal response our country needed at a time of crisis — similar to the Treasury’s bank bailouts in 2008. But [...]
Fidelity acquires LGIM’s personal investing business October 23, 2020 Fidelity has acquired Legal and General Investment Management’s personal investing business for an undisclosed sum. The business will now form part of Fidelity’s own personal investing platform and will more than double its current 280,000 customers on the platform, which has £20.3bn in assets under management. LGIM’s UK personal investing business has £5.8bn in assets [...]
Credit Suisse to connect clients with early-stage investment opportunities October 23, 2020 Credit Suisse, Linklaters, Deloitte and The Conduit Connect have launched a new venture to partner early-stage companies with potential investors. The partnership will connect members of London-based social change initiative The Conduit with Credit Suisse clients to access impact investment opportunities. The Conduit Connect currently matches early-stage investment opportunities, such as The Library of Things, [...]
Which stock markets look cheap as we enter the final quarter of 2020? October 23, 2020 | City Talk While the virus itself hasn’t gone away, as far as financial markets are concerned, the pit of misery was back in March. At that point, a typical global market stock market portfolio had haemorrhaged around a third of its value in just six weeks. Stocks have soared As is often the case, peak despair turns [...]
The US Election countdown – don’t just brace for volatility. Trade it October 23, 2020 | City Talk If 2020 hasn’t been turbulent enough already, the US election is well and truly underway. As the future of the country’s leadership remains uncertain, financial markets are braced for further volatility. The “strength of the U.S. dollar” is a popular topic within the campaign messaging of both candidates this year. Ultimately, that strength is based [...]
Startup community Supernode merges with VC fund to invest in media-tech October 21, 2020 Investor and startup community Supernode has absorbed media-tech VC fund Rooks Nest Ventures in what it claims is an industry first. The creation of Supernode Global comes out of the £28m Rooks Nest Ventures fund, launched in 2017 by film producer Michael Sackler, and the community platform Supernode. The new venture will offer access to [...]
Don’t get in over your head – trade smart and trade safe October 21, 2020 | City Talk With the shift to at-home working resulting in lockdown boredom, there has been a surge in retail day traders around the world looking to profit from the market volatility. With the growing number of brokers committing to commission-free trading and zero-minimum balances, there are more choices than ever for retail traders. However, one must take [...]