Funny thing about those inflation fears June 27, 2018 | City Talk Inflation! A topic that is commonly on everyone’s mind. In February 2018, pundits shrieked rising wages meant that the world economy was overheating. Rising interest rates to come! Analysts blamed price fears for stocks’ decline. Yet one month later, when new data showed no inflation spike, no one cared. Weird! But typical of corrections. Volatility [...]
Is the high street really doomed? June 26, 2018 | City Talk UK high street retailers have endured a torrid time over the last few years. A slew of store closures, job losses and administrations don’t make for pretty headlines, and illustrate just how difficult it is for those looking to invest in the retail sector. Discount retailer Poundworld followed electronics firm Maplin and toy retailer Toys [...]
Company directors could face fines or jail time for flouting pension rules June 26, 2018 Unscrupulous directors who play fast and loose with their company pension scheme could face time in prison and unlimited fines under new measures tabled by the government today. A consultation was launched today by minister for pensions and financial inclusion guy Opperman which will impose harsher penalties for directors who deliberately or recklessly put funds [...]
New crypto platform with ex London Stock Exchange strategy chief on board aims for institutional investors June 26, 2018 A new trading platform for cryptocurrencies targeted at institutional investors will launch today in London with a former top executive at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on its board. Archax will aim to operate “in a regulated manner” – in an as yet unregulated space – in a bid to attract big investors who have [...]
Will active management fight back? June 25, 2018 | City Talk In contrast to ‘passive’ fund or trackers, which aim to replicate the performance of an index, ‘active’ funds employ fund managers to try and select the best performing investments. There are pros and cons for both methods. Passives are cheaper, sometimes substantially so, but they also won’t outperform the index they are following. Meanwhile, finding [...]
Last Week in the City: Markets Trumped by trade fears June 22, 2018 | City Talk The week was dominated by trade war fears as Donald Trump said he would slap further tariffs on Chinese goods should there be any retaliatory measures. Despite this, Nasdaq hit a record high, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased all its gains in 2018 so far. The FTSE 100 fell 0.5% over the week [...]
Brexit vote two years on: seven charts that tell the story June 22, 2018 | City Talk On 23 June 2016, the UK public voted on whether or not to stay in the European Union (EU). Many expected the UK to remain in the EU, but by a majority of 52% to 48% the Leave campaign won. The UK is scheduled to leave the EU at 23:00 UK time on 29 March [...]
Willis Towers Watson completes £85m buy-in deal for Aliaxis Defined Benefit Pension Scheme June 21, 2018 London-based insurer Willis Towers Watson today announced that it had agreed a buy-in deal for £85m of the Aliaxis UK Defined Benefit Pension Scheme with Just Group. The payments were completed in two tranches, split between a £35m sum in November 2016, and a £50m payment last December. The deal covers 350 of the scheme's [...]
Will a new cocoa cartel force up chocolate prices? June 21, 2018 | City Talk Chocoholics and biscuit-lovers have been upset by the concept of "shrinkflation". This is where manufacturers reduce the size of people’s favourite treats without bothering to shrink the price. Consumers are getting less for their money – and this recent mooted changes in the cocoa market could end up handing more power to growers. Will this [...]
Can slowing money growth stall markets? June 19, 2018 | City Talk It’s fashionable for central banks to be more cautious in the West. TheFederal Reserve is busy putting up interest rates. Many forecast a move up from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent this year and a further move to 3.25 per cent next year. Meanwhile, the US central bank is also reducing its own [...]