DEBATE: Today, on the 10th birthday of bitcoin, is blockchain fulfilling its promise? October 31, 2018 Today, on the tenth birthday of bitcoin, is blockchain fulfilling its promise? John Velissarios, Accenture’s global blockchain technology lead, says YES. Blockchain’s promise is to bring trust to transactions where it didn’t exist before. It is distributed and consensus-based, and security is woven into the data, so it cannot be tampered with. The past 10 [...]
Stablecoins – the cryptocurrency pegged to reality – could save the market October 30, 2018 The last few years have seen the crypto market experience exponential growth, and at the time of writing, it was worth £152bn globally. However, predictions that cryptocurrencies will supplant conventional forms of money have so far proved to be unfounded, as their wild volatility makes them unsuitable for day-to-day use by consumers. But it isn’t [...]
BP more than doubles profits on stronger oil prices as it aims to close $10.5bn BHP deal October 30, 2018 BP has more than doubled its profits for its latest quarter, telling investors it could complete its $10.5bn (£8.2bn) purchase of BHP assets in cash as early as tomorrow. The oil and gas giant said its underlying profit for the quarter was $3.8bn, more than double its profit for the same period in 2017 – [...]
Listed challenger law firm Gordon Dadds swallows 150-year-old City firm Ince & Co October 29, 2018 Gordon Dadds is set to become the largest listed law firm in England after today agreeing a deal to buy venerable City shipping firm Ince & Co for £34m. City A.M. revealed the firms were in talks last month following which shares in Gordon Dadds were suspend. Gordon Dadds, which advised The Telegraph in the Philip Green [...]
A virtual reality education company is listing on Aim today for £19.3m October 29, 2018 Virtual reality may soon hit the classroom, as a company called VR Education (VRE) listed on London's junior market today for a market value of £19.3m. VRE, which has raised £6m through the initial public offering (IPO), focuses on using virtual reality to improve digital learning and corporate training. The money raised in the float [...]
Rio Tinto says $1.3bn sale of stake in Guinea iron mine has lapsed October 29, 2018 A deal for Rio Tinto to sell its stake in a Guinea iron ore project for $1.3bn (£1bn) has fallen through. The global miner had signed a non-binding agreement for China's Chinalco to buy its 45.05 per cent stake in the Simandou project in October 2016. On Monday it said the agreement had lapsed and it [...]
Happy birthday, bitcoin: Onwards to a brave new crypto-fulled world October 29, 2018 A decde ago this Wednesday, just weeks after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the start of the financial crisis, an anonymous figure published the famous essay – “Bitcoin: a peer-to-peer electronic cash system”. Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, known under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, has to this day never been unmasked, but his invention has since [...]
The City helps fuel economic growth right across the country, so be wary of those who want to clip its wings October 28, 2018 One of the most pernicious elements of Labour's current economic platform is the idea that the City is entirely distinct from (and damaging to) the so-called real economy. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell's stump speeches routinely contain attacks on predatory bankers, fat-cats and financial speculators. The labour leader also seems to have a personal vendetta against [...]
Fracking paused in Lancashire after fourth seismic event in four days October 27, 2018 Fracking has been paused at British shale gas company Cuadrilla's Lancashire site after a fourth “micro seismic” event in four days. Cuadrilla said it recorded the 0.8ML tremor at its Preston New Road site on Saturday morning and would continue to monitor seismic activity until before resuming on Monday. The company said the activity did [...]
Tech firms lead the drop as US stock markets head for worst month in nine years October 27, 2018 The US stock market took another hit on Friday as the S&P 500 was "on the cusp of despair" after it fell by almost 2 per cent. The market was on the edge of correction territory after disappointing forecasts from leading technology groups triggered a wider sell-off as investors continued their retreat from risky assets. The [...]