At the close: FTSE 100 makes it four positive days on the bounce as commodity prices climb June 8, 2016 A rebound in commodity prices gave a boost to the resources and energy heavy FTSE 100 today, moving it ahead of European markets. The index rose by 16.99 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 6,285.21 points, making today its fourth positive session on the bounce. Oil prices continued their recent rally, climbing to their highest price in around eight months. [...]
Now you can trade shares on Facebook Messenger with chatbots June 8, 2016 As if Facebook weren't already taking over your life (and the rest of the world), soon, it could be the place where you're trading shares. An online broker in Britain has revealed that it completed a live share trade using the messaging app – understood to be a world first – and plans to make this widely [...]
Turkish delight: McVitie’s owner melts biscuits into same £3.6bn company as Godiva June 8, 2016 McVitie’s biscuits have been melted into the same company as chocolatier Godiva. Yildiz Holding, the Turkish owner of Godiva Chocolatier, Ulker, DeMet’s Candy Company and McVitie’s maker United Biscuits, has brought the brands together to form Pladis. The $5.2bn (£3.6bn) revenue company will be London-headquartered and aims to float on the London Stock Exchange as a FTSE 100 firm as [...]
UK set to miss out on Euro 2016 stock market bump June 8, 2016 As national teams land in France ahead of Euro 2016, city workers may be looking forward to letting one eye drift from the Bloomberg terminal towards live blogs and TV coverage. However, while summer is usually seen as a quiet period for the stock markets, CMC Markets have found that performance at the tournament could drive performance [...]
Brent crude and WTI: US oil hits fresh 2016 high on softer dollar, supply outages June 7, 2016 Oil prices raced to a fresh 2016 high today, energised by expected falls in crude stockpiles and supply outages. Brent crude, the global benchmark, swelled 1.2 per cent to $51.17 per barrel this afternoon, after hitting an intra-day peak of $51.30 earlier, its highest since October. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, jumped 0.8 per cent to [...]
At the close: Gushing oil pushes the FTSE 100 higher as miners slip after recent gains June 7, 2016 The FTSE 100 managed a modest rise today, falling back from much bigger gains directly after the open. The blue-chip index added 0.2 per cent to close at 6,284.53. The initial burst came as a result of Royal Dutch Shell earmarking 10 per cent of its oil and gas production assets for sale, which would result in the [...]
Dow Jones rises above 18,000 for the first time since April as S&P 500 hits its highest level since July June 7, 2016 It looks like those shockingly bad jobs figures are a thing of the past, after the S&P hit its highest level in nearly a year, while the Dow Jones index briefly passed the 18,000 mark for the first time since April. The S&P jumped to 2,117 points in late-morning trading in New York. That was after [...]
Women could miss out on financial success as they shun the stock markets June 7, 2016 A new campaign to get more women involved in the stock markets has been launched today as it was claimed women were missing out on financial success because they are shunning riskier investments. A survey by YouGov for the initiative launched by advice website Boring Money found a "whopping 85 per cent of British women are disengaged with the stock [...]
Rio Tinto launches $3bn bond buyback as commodities brighten June 7, 2016 Rio Tinto said today that it has launched a multi-billion bond buyback programme, as formerly tarnished metals price begin to shine one more. The firm intends to purchase up to $3bn of its 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022 US dollar-denominated notes. It's trying to whittle down its debt pile, having bought $1.5bn of its 2017 and 2018 notes in April. Read [...]
Former London Metal Exchange boss considers launching rival June 7, 2016 The former head of the London Metal Exchange (LME) is considering launching a new London-based metals trading platform. Martin Abbott is in talks with trading houses and brokers over the potential move to challenge the LME. Read more: Open outcry lives on at the London Metal Exchange He left the LME in 2013 after the [...]