Thirty years since Big Bang: The deregulation of the London Stock Exchange democratised investing October 26, 2016 Thirty years have passed since the City of London was radically recast by a package of Thatcherite reforms, known as Big Bang. These saw the privatisation of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), allowed outside companies – not just individuals – to become members, and ushered in the automatic quotation of share prices. The product of [...]
Here we go again: Sterling falls as markets show their nerves ahead of Carney meeting October 25, 2016 It seems markets' nerves have become too much to bear ahead of an appearance by Mark Carney before a committee in the House of Lords later today – while the chancellor didn't give them much cause for confidence. The pound fell 1.1 per cent against the dollar, to $1.2009, in mid-afternoon trading – its lowest since the so-called flash crash [...]
Occulus Rift, but for energy: how virtual reality could shake up utility firm performance October 25, 2016 Humans have a hard time with processing numbers. The fact is that our brains are much better at processing images and colours. Give a human a relatively simple math problem like dividing two large numbers by one another and it can take them several minutes to work out the answer. By contrast, humans are great at understanding [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open October 25, 2016 Apple sales are expected to fall sharply and Twitter is planning another round of job cuts. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing higher ahead of the open, though only slightly. The S&P is up by 0.09 per cent, the Nasdaq is 0.14 per [...]
UK flotation market sinks to four-year low amid Brexit uncertainty October 25, 2016 Activity on the UK’s flotation market has sunk to a four-year low amid Brexit uncertainty. However, while the main market has struggled, London’s junior market, the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), has thrived this year. Overall, there were 41 initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first nine months of the year, the lowest number since 2012. [...]
Saudi Arabia’s bonds have broken the record for an emerging market issue, but are they good value? October 25, 2016 With three huge sovereign bond debuts, this has been a bumper year for emerging market government debt issues. First came Argentina, with a record-breaking $16.5bn (£13.5bn) sale in April, followed the next month by a $9bn issue from Qatar – double the amount it had originally planned for. Both were overawed last week, however, when [...]
Spooking investors: Why this earnings season is like Halloween October 24, 2016 Trick or treat! When you think about it, corporate earnings season is similar to that children’s favourite, Halloween. Expectations usually run high, but you never know if the door you are knocking on will yield a delicious surprise or be a complete let-down, as the sweets are either from last year or there’s none left. [...]
Oil prices dip after Iraq opts out of Opec arrangement to cut production October 24, 2016 Oil prices shed more than one per cent today after Iraq said it did not want to be part of an Opec deal to slash production to help rebalance the market. Brent crude was trading down 63 cents, or 1.22 per cent, this afternoon to $51.15 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the US [...]
Monte dei Paschi di Siena shares rise by double figures as investors await news of rescue plan October 24, 2016 The share price for embattled Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena has rocketed by double digits this morning, as investors wait to hear more about the bank's bailout deal. Shares had risen 23.3 per cent to €0.33 by just before 3pm London time, the highest price they have traded at in over two months. The bank's share [...]
Spanish stock market surges as political deadlock set to end October 24, 2016 Financial markets in Spain have rallied this morning on news that the country is set to exit more than 300 days of political gridlock. After yesterday's landmark concession by the socialist PSOE party, which paved the way for centre-right Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to form a new minority government, the Ibex 35, Spain's bluechip shares index, leapt [...]