The Financial Conduct Authority wants to alter the IPO process – potentially changing how the blackout period works April 13, 2016 Alright, so the IPO market may not exactly be booming at the moment – but the UK's financial watchdog thinks it needs to be more tightly regulated all the same. In an interim report published today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has put forward a package of measures aimed at putting an end to "potentially anti-competitive [...]
House prices: London and regional rental prices climbed higher in March April 13, 2016 London rents rose by 7.7 per cent in the year to March as demand for rental property in the capital remained strong, new research shows. However, HomeLet said that the data comes ahead of reforms that are predicted to have a major impact within the sector, including a stamp duty increase for buy-to-let properties, and could tell [...]
UK bricks and mortar retailers lack relevant e-commerce experience at board level, claims report April 12, 2016 British retailers lack relevant e-commerce experience on the boards, a new study by a leading global executive search firm has found, putting them at risk of falling further behind by their online-only rivals. According to DHR International, only five per cent of executive directors at the leading UK-listed bricks and mortar retail companies have an online background, placing the high street at a [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil climbs even higher amid rising optimism over freeze meeting April 12, 2016 Oil prices burst into life this afternoon, extending earlier gains after a report suggested Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to freeze output ahead of a widely anticipated meeting in Doha on Sunday. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a diplomatic source in Doha saying the two countries had reached a consensus about an output freeze [...]
The Brixton Pound now has a cash machine – but opening hours may be a problem… April 12, 2016 There we were, thinking local currencies had been replaced by bitcoin hysteria. But it turns out one local currency is soldiering on – and has now gone as far as to get its own cashpoints. Today the creators of the Brixton Pound unveiled their latest innovation – an ATM. But there's one significant drawback: the [...]
Opec faced with waning influence in the global oil markets April 12, 2016 Generally speaking the winners of the oil price slump have been big oil-importing economies such as the US, Europe, and China, while Opec oil-exporting states and other big exporters such as Russia are among the losers. The American and European economies are getting a fillip from reduced energy import costs and their consumers are enjoying [...]
Oil price turbulence creates “once-in-a-generation buying opportunity” for private equity April 12, 2016 Oil price turbulence has created a “once-in-a-generation buying opportunity” in private equity, according to a new report. PE Views, a report Latham and Watkins, notes that while many companies are "focused on pure survival", there are buyers willing to "bet on an eventual recovery". Read more: Oil price volatility is holding back M&A in the industry… [...]
Death knell for physical music as digital sales overtake for the first time April 12, 2016 The global music market hailed its first significant year-on-year growth in nearly two decades, as booming digital music sales overtook physical formats for the time. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) annual report reveals that digital revenues now account for 45 per cent of the market after a 10.2 per cent jump to $6.7bn (£4.7bn) last [...]
Furniture chain ScS narrows losses as sales heat up April 12, 2016 Furniture chain ScS said losses narrowed in the first half of the year as demand for its sofas and flooring reached a record high. The figures The retailer, which floated last year, said its like-for-like order intake – which reflects sales it has not yet booked – rose by 9.1 per cent in the six months [...]
De Beers insists demand for rough diamonds is as sparkly as ever April 12, 2016 It seems the demise of diamond sales has been greatly exaggerated, after De Beers published figures showing it made $660m (£463m) in its last sales "cycle". The figures are part of a new drive for transparency at the world's largest diamond producer, which began publishing figures on its 10 annual sales cycles in February in response to [...]