Opec has revealed compliance with its production cuts reached a record high, and oil prices are plunging February 13, 2017 Analysts are concerned the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec)'s production cuts won't be enough to raise crude prices. Opec today revealed it reached a record high of more than 90 per cent compliance with its planned cuts, but oil prices plunged on the news. Global benchmark Brent crude is trading down 2.13 per cent at around $55.49 a barrel while [...]
A surge in copper prices is boosting shares in London’s FTSE 100 miners February 13, 2017 Top London-listed miners' shares were given a boost this morning on the back of stronger metal prices. Mining stocks increased 1.6 per cent as London Metal Exchange three-month copper prices this morning increased about one per cent to the metal's highest price in 20 months . Shares in Glencore, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Antofagasta climbed between 1.7 per cent [...]
The mattress startup battle’s heating up in the UK as Simba gets in bed with top City investors February 13, 2017 The battle to bring you the best night's sleep is heating up as one of several mattress startups spearheading innovation, in an industry apparently ripe for disruption, has landed new funding. Simba Sleep has tempted several top City investors into bed in a fresh £9m funding round, bringing total investment in the one-year-old startup to £17.5m. Henderson [...]
Flower delivery startup Bloom & Wild is set to blossom with millions in fresh funding February 12, 2017 An innovative London startup delivering flowers has raised millions more in fresh funding to pursue ambitious international expansion. Bloom & Wild has landed £3.75m from German media company Hubert Burda's venture arm and previous investor MMC Ventures, along with other angels. Read more: Hungry House is partnering with a startup to help takeaways deliver more The [...]
Copper prices soar to a new high on talks of a force majeure at BHP Billiton’s Escondida mine February 10, 2017 After substantial gains yesterday, London Metal Exchange copper prices have today jumped to their highest level since June 2015. Benchmark copper has risen 4.5 per cent to a session high of $6,083 a tonne. The surge came as news emerged that BHP Billiton is declaring a force majeure on shipments from its Escondida mine in Chile, which is [...]
Yawn: The FTSE 250 has hit another record high February 10, 2017 The FTSE 250 hit a record high this morning, after investors' interest was piqued by Donald Trump's promise of a "phenomenal" tax announcement. The index sprang to 18,670 points in the minutes after the market opened, pushed higher by chemicals giant Elementis, whose shares jumped 9.5 per cent to 301p after it unveiled plans to [...]
Investment company targeting Middle East e-commerce floats on Nex February 10, 2017 A new investment company targeting the Middle East e-commerce sector is listing on the Nex Growth Market today. Dealings of ordinary shares on the company, Indigo Holdings, will start at 8am. Read more: British exporters look to Middle East and Asia to avoid Brexit uncertainty The investment firm has raised more than £800,000 from the [...]
Shares in Ashmore jumped 18 per cent at the open as the investment manager reveals profits beat expectations February 9, 2017 Asset manager Ashmore Group today reported that it almost doubled its profits in the six months to 31 December. The figures Assets under management (AuM) were $52.2bn (£41.6bn), up five per cent over 2016. The group said 91 per cent of AuM outperformed benchmarks over the 12 months. Net revenue increased 24 per cent to [...]
The new indifference: Why markets just don’t care about political risk February 9, 2017 The market reaction to excessive political turmoil has been extraordinary over the last year. Any investor with a crystal ball would have shunned risk assets, given the traditional relationship between political uncertainty and equity market volatility. But they would have been wrong. Incredibly, markets dismissed each event with increasing disdain. There is no sign of [...]
As China’s central bank hauls in several bitcoin exchanges, could governments crush the cryptocurrency? February 8, 2017 Harriet Green, deputy business features editor at City AM, says Yes: If governments like China’s perceive bitcoin to be a threat, they will seek to undermine it. While they couldn’t destroy existing bitcoins, they could destroy demand. Any cryptocurrency is at risk of being made illegal by any government. Granted, users can move underground, but [...]