Google parent Alphabet’s venture arm GV backs London fintech startup Currencycloud in £20m funding round March 9, 2017 Top London fintech startup Currencycloud has attracted Google as an investor in a fresh £20m funding round in a stamp of approval for the sector after Brexit. GV, Alphabet's high-profile venture arm formerly known as Google Ventures, which has backed the likes of Uber and Slack in the past, joins existing investors for the series D [...]
The International Energy Agency says it is inevitable that oil prices will see a massive increase March 8, 2017 Three years of drastic cuts to upstream spending because of the meltdown in oil prices could result in a shortage of oil supply in a few years, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. When oil prices collapsed in 2014, oil producers quickly took an axe to their spending. Global oil and [...]
European company results are beating analysts’ expectations March 8, 2017 European companies are defying analysts' expectations, according to new data. Fourth quarter revenues of nearly 61 per cent of companies in the Stoxx 600 that have reported to date have exceeded analysts' estimates, according to research from Thomson Reuters. In a typical quarter 53 per cent beat analyst revenue estimates. The Stoxx 600 is an index [...]
Dignity share price drops after growth revision March 8, 2017 Dignity, which provides funeral services, crematoria and pre-arranged funeral plans, saw its share price plunge 13 per cent after it revised down its growth rate. It revised down its medium-term target underlying EPS growth rate to eight per cent per annum from the current 10 per cent. However, Dignity beat analysts’ consensus profit forecasts after [...]
How safe are dividends? March 8, 2017 | City Talk The income paid by stock market companies to investors could be about to come under pressure. The twice yearly payments made to investors can be a vital income supplement for those in retirement. Others reinvest the dividends to boost long-term returns. But research compiled by Schroders shows European and US companies are diverting a high [...]
Paddy Power Betfair is trading neck and neck with analysts’ expectations March 7, 2017 Bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair saw its share price fall despite trading in line with expectations last year, underscoring perceptions that investors expect it to perform more strongly for the stock price. It highlighted an increase in underlying earnings of over a third to £400m as well as a significant dividend payment. The figures Revenues are up [...]
Aggreko share price hit as it warns on profits March 7, 2017 Power supplier Aggreko warned on profits alongside its 2016 results this morning, causing its share price to dive 13 per cent. It said that 2017 results will be hit by a “significant impact” of weaker pricing on contracts in Argentina. The figures The company reported a reduction of 24 per cent in 2016 pre-tax profits to £172m after [...]
X-ray company Medica Reporting plots £150m-plus IPO as private equity firm CBPE Capital seeks exit March 7, 2017 A private equity-backed x-ray company is plotting a stock market flotation, City A.M. can reveal. Medica Reporting, the UK’s largest remote radiology reporting network, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) that could value the company at more than £150m. Read more: London IPO, New York or sale? Sources say Misys is keeping its options [...]
Gold prices ended February higher, but private investor demand fell March 7, 2017 Gold prices ended February 8.3 per cent higher for the year so far, but private investor demand for the yellow metal eased from its strongest January in five years. The number of gold buyers on BullionVault, a leading online platform, fell by a fifth in February to the lowest level in just over a year. The number [...]
London IPO, New York or sale? Technology giant Misys said to be keeping its options open after last year’s pulled UK float March 7, 2017 Technology giant Misys could be sold rather than try for another initial public offering (IPO) after last year’s pulled London float, sources have said. The private equity owner of Misys is understood to be keeping its options open for exiting the technology company, with a listing in New York also being explored. Read more: Fears [...]