When did making money in tech become so unfashionable? December 10, 2019 It is commonly accepted that technology companies have irrevocably changed the world we live in. This is especially true in the finance industry where fintech companies are successfully disrupting the status quo, forcing incumbent firms to evolve alongside these new challengers. While competition and technological innovation in any market is to be welcomed with open [...]
Drax aims to be world’s first carbon negative company by 2030 December 10, 2019 Drax, the UK power generation company, will this morning become the world’s first company to announce its ambition to become carbon negative by 2030. Chief executive Will Gardiner will tell the Madrid climate conference that scaled-up deployment of new technology like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (Beccs) will enable Drax to remove more carbon [...]
Opec production cuts compliance could push oil price to $70 December 9, 2019 The combination of strong compliance of Opec and its allies with production cuts and a US-China trade deal could push the price of Brent crude to $70 by the second quarter of 2020. According to a note from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, last week’s agreement to curb production by an additional 500,000 barrels a [...]
How global cities are promoting sustainability and helping to fight climate change December 9, 2019 | City Talk The 2016 Paris Agreement gave the world a sense of hope that politicians could work together to limit temperature rises to 2 degrees centigrade. However, much has changed since the milestone agreement. More frequent extreme weather events, increasing political nationalism and growing economic inequality are making the goal of a carbon neutral world by 2050 [...]
Asian markets subdued ahead of key US-China tariff deadline December 9, 2019 Asian stocks edged up on Monday following surprisingly strong US jobs data, but gains were subdued amid concerns over the ongoing US-China trade war. Concerns over Chinese economic slowdown due to the prolonged trade battle hit Asian equities as investors awaited news of whether the US will go ahead with plans to raise tariffs on [...]
Softbank’s second Vision Fund set to come in underweight December 8, 2019 The giant Japanese investment fund Softbank is dialing down its ambitions for the second of its Vision Funds after failed bets on firms such as Wework and Uber dragged the company to its first quarterly loss in 14 years. Softbank’s first Vision Fund two years ago raised around $100bn (£76bn) from backers including the Saudi [...]
New Octopus Renewables trust smashes target in £350m float December 6, 2019 Octopus Renewables’ new infrastructure trust smashed investor expectations this morning, successfully raising £100m more than its original target of £250m. The £350m launch makes the launch the second biggest initial public offering for an investment company this year. Read more: Octopus launches new renewables trust The net proceeds of the opening issue after costs will [...]
FTSE 100 opens higher as China tariff waiver raises hopes of trade truce December 6, 2019 The FTSE 100 bounced back in early trading today as China’s decision to roll back tariffs on some US exports raised hopes of a pre-Christmas trade war truce. London’s blue-chip index was up roughly 0.8 per cent to 7,195.1 points this morning as traders reacted to developments in Beijing. Read more: Global growth to pick [...]
Primark set to drive another year of growth for ABF December 6, 2019 Associated British Foods (ABF), the British multinational which owns Primark, reiterated its outlook for the new financial year ahead of this morning’s AGM. The new financial year will see Primark expand its selling space, with the most new stores being added in France and Spain. Read more: Primark bounce helps offset sugar slump at ABF [...]
Glencore threatened with class against lawsuit that could run into the billions December 5, 2019 Mining and commodities giant Glencore could be hit by a class action lawsuit running into the billions, a law firm said today. Glencore confirmed today that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had launched a bribery investigation into its activities. Read more: Glencore shares tumble on Serious Fraud Office bribery investigation US law firm Boies Schiller [...]