World Bank issues first blockchain bond in £56m innovation push August 23, 2018 The World Bank is to settle its very first public blockchain bond next week. The instruction will see the bank use blockchain technology to carry out the entire issuance process, removing any manual involvement. Priced at AU$100m (£56.65m), the so-called Bondi (standing for Blockchain Operated New Debt Instrument) security will be managed by the Commonwealth of Australia Bank. The [...]
Why Elon Musk is far from alone with his stock market dilemma August 23, 2018 | City Talk Elon Musk, the divisive entrepreneur, has recently made headlines with the following tweet. In a subsequent blog post, Musk made clear his reasons for wanting to take his electric vehicle company, Tesla, away from the stock market. He expressed his frustration at the distraction caused by wild swings in the Tesla share price and perceives [...]
Balfour Beatty keep bouncing back August 23, 2018 | City Talk Balfour Beatty shares are higher since the company revealed a 69% jump in first-half operating profit last week. Revenue dipped by 8.5%, but higher margins and lower costs helped the company boost earnings. The interim dividend was upped by 33% to 1.6p, which admittedly isn’t a huge pay-out, but it highlights the company’s ability to [...]
Persimmon produce stable 1H numbers August 23, 2018 | City Talk Persimmon shares are higher this week after the company registered a strong set of first-half results on Tuesday. Revenue jumped by 5% and pre-tax profit rose by 13%. The average selling price of a new home rose by 1%, which is a slight decrease on the 1.2% growth achieved in the first-quarter. The underlying new housing [...]
Why do we flock to overcrowded tourist traps? Because of rational choice, that’s why August 23, 2018 I am in Edinburgh at the festival, where even Jeremy Corbyn has appeared. Disappointingly, he was not playing the role of Carmela Soprano, the mafia don’s wife who is always present but never involved. Visiting Edinburgh in the height of summer has brought home directly the problem of tourist overload. This tendency of tourists to flock [...]
Ryanair shares take flight after airline reaches agreement with Forsa trade union to end Irish pilots strike action August 23, 2018 Ryanair confirmed this morning that it has reached an agreement in its dispute with its Irish pilots. Shares in the airline rose 5.5 per cent at morning trading to 14p in response to the news, with the announcement a potential turning point in ongoing industrial action that has grounded flights across the summer period. Irish [...]
Saudi Arabia denies reports the $2 trillion Aramco float has been cancelled August 23, 2018 Saudi Arabia’s energy minister today denied reports that plans to float part of its state oil and gas company Aramco had been cancelled. “The government remains committed to the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, in accordance with the appropriate circumstances and appropriate time chosen by the government”, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in a [...]
Markets hold their breath as US and Chinese trade talks resume August 22, 2018 Trade negotiations between the US and China are set to resume today in a bid to avert a trade war between the world's two largest economies. Treasury undersecretary David Malpass will meet Chinese Commerce vice minister Wang Shouwen, continuing discussions through to tomorrow. While President Donald Trump said earlier this week he did not "anticipate much" [...]
Shares, stocks and corporate news: What you need to know before the open August 22, 2018 Today's top story: London keeps its forex crown A legal storm involving two members of Donald Trump's inner circle sent US stock index futures down overnight, as Asian and European markets reacted to what is being dubbed as the US President's "worst ever day" in the White House. However, US stocks hit an all-time high yesterday, and the S&P 500 [...]
Dollar slides after President Trump’s criticism of the Federal Reserve August 21, 2018 President Trump’s criticised the US Federal Reserve yesterday, prompting a downward slide of the dollar to its lowest level for nearly a fortnight. The president commented that he was unhappy with interest rate increase pursued by the Fed and singled out chairman Jerome Powell. “I’m not thrilled with his raising of interest rates, no. I’m not [...]