Gaming shares slide after China puts limits on kids playing online games August 31, 2021 China’s new rules forbidding under-18s from playing online games for more than three hours per week to curb youth video game addiction. China’s National Press and Publication Administration announced yesterday that gamers under 18 are only allowed to play online between 8-9 pm on Fridays, weekends and holidays. The authorities have instructed gaming companies to [...]
Benchmarking has become circular August 31, 2021 | City Talk Time and again throughout my career I have ranted about the nonsense of benchmarking in all its forms. By now I have given up on the hope that business and investing will ever leave the practice behind, so I don’t expect this post to change anything except to make me feel better. I spoke recently [...]
US stocks hit fresh record highs again as Fed signals gradual tightening August 31, 2021 Wall Street moved to yet more record highs yesterday driven by investors reacting positively to the Fed’s dovish stance on winding down stimulus measures. The S&P 500 briefly touched a record high yesterday, as did the tech-heavy Nasdaq, but both pulled back slightly to rise 0.43 per cent and 0.90 per cent respectively. Fed Chair [...]
Wall Street scales to yet more record highs after Powell signals Fed will taper stimulus this year August 27, 2021 US markets were propelled to yet more record highs today after the chair of the US Federal Reserve indicated the central bank may start to wind down stimulus measures this year. The S&P 500 touched a record high today, before paring back slightly to rise 0.90 per cent to 4,510.49 points during early afternoon trading. [...]
Oil prices climb on suppliers switching off production ahead of storm hitting Gulf of Mexico August 27, 2021 Oil prices jumped today and are set to post huge gains for the week as energy suppliers shut off production in the Gulf of Mexico in preparation of a storm hitting the area on the weekend. International benchmarks WTI and Brent Crude rose 1.85 per cent and 1.62 per cent to $66.87 and $72.22 respectively. [...]
Has Covid actually mattered to financial markets? August 27, 2021 | City Talk The Covid-19 pandemic has clearly affected our daily lives and the well-being of the global economy. But the impact on financial markets has been less straightforward. Firstly, equities appear to have looked through the economic consequences of the virus. Last year, the Covid-19 crisis triggered one of the deepest recessions in history which saw global [...]
FTSE 100 slides to reverse four day winning streak August 26, 2021 The FTSE 100 fell today after four straight sessions of gains as a clutch of miners and industrial heavyweights weighed on London’s premier index. The blue-chip index closed down 0.35 per cent at 7,124.98 points, with miners dragging the FTSE down. Having hit record highs yesterday amid a surge of takeover activity, the FTSE 250 [...]
Rallying retail stocks lift FTSE 250 to fresh record high August 25, 2021 A rally among retail and consumer goods stocks drove the mid-cap FTSE 250 to a fresh record high today. The domestically-focused mid-cap index pulled back slighlty from morning gains that saw it reach a new summit, but it registered its highest closing score ever, up 0.42 per cent today to 23,986.37 points. Over the last [...]
Relaxation of Indian listing regime to boost flotations on London markets August 25, 2021 Flotations on London markets are set to rise sharply, driven by a flood of Indian companies listing in the capital, according to the chief of a leading Indian investment firm. JPIN VCATS’ founder, Nayan Gala, expects India’s booming startup scene to take advantage of a relaxation to the country’s overseas listing rules. “The UK will [...]
FCA says it cannot supervise crypto exchange Binance effectively August 25, 2021 UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has admitted that it is “not capable” of effectively supervising Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume in a statement published today. In a supervisory note the watchdog today reiterated its concerns over Binance’s products, which allow consumers to take supercharged bets, and added that the crypto exchange [...]