Fuel prices rise in January despite wholesale price drop February 5, 2020 Despite hefty falls in diesel and unleaded wholesale prices in January, the UK’s four largest supermarkets increased fuel prices every day until a last-gasp cut on 29 January. The drop in wholesale prices, which saw unleaded fall 4p and diesel 7.5p, should have been good news for UK drivers, but prices at supermarkets increased £1.51p [...]
Vanguard to bypass banks with new forex algorithms February 4, 2020 Asset manager Vanguard is reportedly set to bypass banks and start using computer-run algorithms to trade FX directly with other funds. The head of FX trading at Vanguard, Andy Maack, told Reuters that the fund was in talks with several forex platforms about launching algorithms to seek out and trade with other asset managers. Trading [...]
BP profit plunges but oil giant beats expectations in Bob Dudley’s swansong February 4, 2020 Bob Dudley bowed out after a decade as BP’s chief executive today as the firm outperformed analyst expectations in the face of a challenging macroeconomic environment. Despite a 26 per cent fall in profit in the final quarter of 2019, the oil giant’s underlying replacement cost (RC) figure – BP’s definition of net income – [...]
EU markets watchdog offers Brexit olive branch over access to UK trading platforms February 4, 2020 The European Union’s markets watchdog is considering imposing stricter conditions on off-exchange share trading, and has also proposed making it easier for EU investors to use UK trading platforms after the Brexit transition period ends. In a consultation paper published today, The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said that EU securities rules had failed [...]
FTSE 100 extends recovery from coronavirus sell-off February 4, 2020 Britain’s FTSE 100 has risen along with European markets as global stocks extend their recovery from a difficult last week that was marred by fears over coronavirus. Europe’s equity markets were buoyed by the rise in Asian stock markets overnight, which was driven by the Chinese government’s stimulus measures and better-than-expected US manufacturing data. Beijing [...]
Oil price edges up on Opec production cuts hopes February 4, 2020 Oil prices showed signs of recovery this morning as officials from oil cartel Opec were set to meet in Vienna to discuss the rapid fall in prices due to China’s coronavirus outbreak. Brent crude clawed back 0.7 per cent to reach $54.92, whilst West Texas Intermediate, which on Monday breached the $50 mark, gained 1.5 [...]
Glencore shares rise as cobalt production offsets copper drop February 4, 2020 Shares in global miner Glencore rose five per cent this morning as the firm brushed off lower production volumes of metals such as copper, gold and silver. Production of the red metal slipped six per cent in 2019 to 1.37m tonnes, whilst gold production fell 15 per cent to 848,000 tonnes. The company has been [...]
Asian stocks recover ground even as coronavirus spreads February 4, 2020 Asian stocks bounced overnight despite Hong Kong reporting its first death from coronavirus. The virus – which originated in Wuhan, China – had claimed 425 lives as of yesterday, from 20,400 cases. China’s Shanghai stock index climbed 1.3 per cent overnight after plunging 7.9 per cent yesterday, a fall which wiped around $400bn (£309bn) off [...]
Burford Capital issues warning on 2019 profit February 3, 2020 Burford Capital, the litigation funder locked in a stand-off with short-seller Muddy Waters, has warned 2019 profit will fall lower partly due to a fall in potential earnings from certain investments. The AIM-listed company said it finished the first half of its financial year with an “unusually high” amount of settlement, $173m, thanks to investment [...]
Drax assessing coal plant options after legal challenge February 3, 2020 Drax will not bid for capacity market contracts for its proposed new gas power plant in North Yorkshire until the outcome of a legal challenge against the project is known. The National Grid uses capacity market contracts to ensure there will be sufficient energy on the grid to offset periods of stress caused by the [...]