Investors suddenly think that we’ve seen the worst of the oil price slump October 19, 2016 Oil speculators and a few major investment banks have suddenly turned bullish on crude prices, betting that the rally above $50 per barrel has more room to run. "Global oil inventories (industry and government) increased by 17 million barrels to 5.618 billion barrels in 3Q16. This is the smallest build since 4Q14, confirming that inventory [...]
The pound’s doing what the pound does best October 19, 2016 Of course it was too good to be true. Yesterday, the FTSE 100 rose and the pound was up by more than one per cent against the dollar and the euro. But those who said such a mighty jump to the giddy highs of $1.23 and €1.12 (compared to $1.48 and €1.30 back in June), [...]
Cocoa floats well: Hotel Chocolat reports rising revenue and profits after IPO October 19, 2016 Hotel Chocolat has reported growing revenue and profits in its preliminary results after listing on the London Stock Exchange this year. The figures Revenue for the period to 26 June came in at £91.1m, up 12 per cent from £81.1m in 2015. Pre-tax profit, meanwhile, was up from £2.9m to £8.2m, and earnings before interest, [...]
The Brexit rally is less fragile than it looks October 19, 2016 The performance of UK shares has generally confounded most strategists. Since the vote to leave the EU in June, UK savers have enjoyed returns of close to 15 per cent. While the weakness of sterling has eaten most of those returns for overseas investors, we are in a much better place than many were predicting in [...]
Lineker-backed insurer scores £1m in funding October 18, 2016 Internet of Things insurer Neos has hit the back of the net with £1m in initial seed funding, valuing the business at £8.4m. The company – a so-called insurtech startup – counts Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker among its backers and the latest funding round adds insurtech fund Eos Venture Partners. Neos is [...]
Sterling and FTSE 100 jump as inflation hits two-year high October 18, 2016 Sterling recovered some poise today, soaring higher after inflation jumped to a two-year high. The FTSE 100 also jumped back above 7,000 in early morning trading, fading only slightly to end the day up 0.7 per cent at 6,994 as traders and investors digested the news that prices rose by one per cent in the year to [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open October 18, 2016 Inflation in the UK has jumped, and new loans in China grew by more than expected. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm. US futures are pointing higher ahead of the open. The S&P is up by 0.54 per cent, while the Nasdaq is 0.62 per cent higher. The Dow [...]
UK tech investors are incredibly happy about Softbank’s $100bn fund October 17, 2016 Venture capital investors in London have welcomed the arrival of the world’s biggest ever tech investment fund and the decision to locate it in the capital. Softbank unveiled plans last week to create a huge new fund for investing in technology companies along with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund to the tune of as much as $100bn [...]
Sterling steady as rift opens between Philip Hammond and hard Brexiters October 17, 2016 The weekend may have brought some welcome respite for currency traders after a frantic few weeks of selling and shorting, but the break still hasn't done sterling any good. It's as-you-were on the money markets today with the pound falling shy of $1.22 against the US dollar and €1.11 against the single currency. At lunchtime one pound [...]
Markets riding high for now, but vulnerable to “small trigger”, warns Citi October 17, 2016 Equity markets could be a “small trigger” away from crashing down from current near-high levels, a note from Citigroup has warned today. Researchers argued that the world is currently not an uncertain place, but that with certainty comes complacency, “and with complacency comes risk”. Read more: Will the pound's weakness continue to drive the FTSE 100? [...]