Retail round up: What’s happening on the high street? January 11, 2019 | City Talk Not as bad as it could have been. That’s the general feeling about high street performance over Christmas after major retailers and the supermarkets published their festive figures this week. The British Retail Consortium says that 2018 was the worst Christmas for retails for 10 years but, as ever, the figures show there are winners [...]
UK economy posts slowest growth in six months but beats lower expectations January 11, 2019 The UK economy grew at its slower rate in six months between September and November, data released today shows, but still managed to beat lower expectations. GDP grew by 0.2 per cent in November compared to the month before, and by 0.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to the end of the month, the [...]
Sterling falls as investor fears of a general election grow after Theresa May’s second Commons defeat in 24 hours January 10, 2019 Sterling has dropped against the euro and the dollar this morning after Theresa May suffered another bruising Commons defeat ramping up investor fears of a general election. The pound fell to a weekly low against the euro of €1.105 before recovering slightly and also slid 0.2 per cent against the dollar. It comes after a [...]
Short sellers release pressure on construction outsourcing giant Kier Group January 9, 2019 A period of sustained pressure from short sellers on contractor Kier Group has come to an end, with hedge funds cashing out on the company's stock market woes throughout December. At the end of November, 13.98 per cent of Kier’s shares – worth £102m – were held by short sellers betting against the company. That [...]
Oil prices continue strong start to 2019 as Saudi cuts exports further January 9, 2019 Oil has ticked upwards again today for its eighth straight session as Opec cuts in the New Year and hopes US-China trade talks pushed prices up. Brent crude smashed back through the $60 per barrel milestone for the first time in three weeks as it gained 2.8 per cent by mid afternoon. However by 4pm [...]
Will this be a year for investors to fear? January 9, 2019 A new year always offers the chance of a reset, of evolved thoughts, ideas and insights. Even though many will be pleased to see the back of 2018, numerous investors are beginning this year with new concerns: an oncoming recession. This fear seems suddenly rampant among many of my colleagues in the industry. But these fears [...]
Housebuilders lead the way as FTSE climbs to four-week highs January 9, 2019 The FTSE 100 has climbed one per cent in early trading as US-China trade talks and a housebuilder boost continued the index’s bright start to the year. The blue chip index has now risen 2.6 per cent so far this year as the third day of trade negotiations between the world’s two largest economies further [...]
Softcat is top dog after trading update sends shares soaring January 9, 2019 Softcat shares rocketed today after the IT infrastructure provider said it was materially ahead of expectations at this stage of the year. Shares jumped 20 per cent this morning to 707p following the news. Softcat said trading had continued to be strong since its last update on 28 November. Ahead of its interim results on 31 [...]
Markets lift as US-China trade talks reach conclusion January 9, 2019 Trade talks in Beijing between China and the US have concluded, with the results of the negotiations expected to be announced shortly. Asian markets lifted this morning on hopes that a deal had been secured. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up more than two per cent and the Shanghai Composite was up almost one [...]
London raked £1.8bn in tech funding last year, almost double its next closest rival January 9, 2019 London has retained its spot at the top of the tech charts for another year, securing almost double the amount of investment in 2018 than its next closest European competitor. Tech firms in the capital raised £1.8bn in venture funding and public listings in 2018, raking in 72 per cent of the UK’s £2.5bn total [...]