Can Amazon really be a climate change champion? June 12, 2019 | City Talk Amazon is not a company normally associated with meaningful strides towards a low carbon future. Although e-commerce is typically better for the environment than heavily air-conditioned, high street stores, speedy deliveries carry a high carbon cost. Any Amazon shopper may feel a pang of guilt – as I have – at using the one day delivery [...]
Oil prices pushed down by US stockpile data June 12, 2019 Oil prices dropped nearly three per cent this morning as news emerged that US stockpiles rose last week. International standard Brent crude fell 2.6 per cent to $60.72 at around 11.15am today. Meanwhile, US standard was down 2.8 per cent to $51.79. Oil inventories in the States grew by 4.9m barrels last week. Analysts had [...]
Is gold making a comeback? June 12, 2019 | City Talk A rise in the price of gold has coincided with a renewed interest in the role of bullion as a monetary asset. Eclipsed since the early Seventies by paper assets and, occasionally, even cryptocurrencies, gold is once again heralded as a risk-free asset with three huge plus points. These are that it is universally acceptable, that it [...]
Opening the fund-gate: How to prevent the Woodford saga from happening again June 12, 2019 The UK’s most famous fund manager has been having a terrible time recently – or perhaps infamous is a better way to describe Neil Woodford these days. Trading in Woodford’s £3.7bn Equity Income fund was suspended last week after a stampede of investors rushed to get their money back. Those remaining are now stuck, and [...]
Mining stocks pull up FTSE 100 June 11, 2019 Mining giants helped push up the FTSE 100 this morning as China announced increased local government spending. The miners were also boosted by Chinese iron prices which jumped by nearly six per cent in today’s trade. Evraz, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Gencore and BHP rose between two and four per cent each. They were all among [...]
Expected Credit Losses in Unexpected Times June 11, 2019 | City Talk A policy crafted to stop repeating past mistakes often misses the future challenges shaped by those very policies.
FTSE hits five-week high as stock markets buoyed by Trump tariff reprieve June 10, 2019 The FTSE 100 hit a five-week high this morning as the easing of global trade fears and a falling pound boosted the UK’s main stock market index. Read more: US and Mexico sign agreement to avoid tariffs US President Donald Trump’s decision to row back on tariffs on Mexico that were due to come into [...]
Shares in Neil Woodford’s listed fund continue to tumble in tough week for former top stock picker June 6, 2019 Shares in Neil Woodford’s Woodford Patient Capital Trust fell nearly four per cent this morning continuing a torrid week for the former star trader. Shares in stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown also continued to slide today, falling nearly two per cent. Trading in the stock picker’s flagship Woodford Equity Income Fund was suspended on Monday following a [...]
D-Day for the ECB as pressure mounts to act June 6, 2019 | City Talk It’s D-Day for euro bulls as we look to today’s meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) to see whether the breakout can be sustained or whether this is yet another bull trap in an ongoing downtrend. The bulls have secured the beachhead above $1.12, breaking free from a long-term descending wedge, but they now need to gather the troops to push [...]
Asda leads way as supermarkets slash fuel prices June 5, 2019 Drivers will get a boost at the pumps as Asda led supermarkets to cut prices this week. The supermarket will tomorrow slash prices by 3p per litre of diesel at all its 322 petrol stations across the UK, and 1p for petrol. Read more: Oil prices hit four-month low It brings the price to 128.7p [...]