British Gas is not overcharging customers – this is why February 13, 2017 | City Talk As we wrote in our article Forget the acronyms, we value investors care about the treatment of stakeholders. Not just investors but staff, customers, suppliers and regulators. Given the political, regulatory and media pressure on the so called “Big Six” energy companies, the situation at Centrica is worthy of closer examination. Are customers paying too [...]
Investment company targeting Middle East e-commerce floats on Nex February 10, 2017 A new investment company targeting the Middle East e-commerce sector is listing on the Nex Growth Market today. Dealings of ordinary shares on the company, Indigo Holdings, will start at 8am. Read more: British exporters look to Middle East and Asia to avoid Brexit uncertainty The investment firm has raised more than £800,000 from the [...]
Retail investors welcome Brexit for their portfolios but think Trump will harm their investments February 9, 2017 Almost half of the UK’s retail investors think Brexit will have a positive effect on their investment portfolios, a new survey says. The poll also found the same proportion, 44 per cent, of retail investors thought the Presidency of Donald Trump would benefit their investments, according to the poll by IW Capital. While many economists expect [...]
Henderson shares hit as fund manager reports £4bn outflows February 9, 2017 Henderson Group’s shares dropped three per cent on Thursday after the fund manager reported outflows of £4bn last year. The figures Assets under management (AUM) grew 10 per cent during the year, closing 31 December at £101bn, as market gains more than offset the net outflows. The company reported underlying pre-tax profits of £212.7m, down [...]
Meet Julia Salasky, founder of CrowdJustice – the platform bringing the legal system to everyone February 9, 2017 Debt, equity, rewards and donations – those are the categories of crowdfunding that have emerged over the past decade, creating an industry that has raised over $8bn worldwide. But despite the heady growth, the youth of crowdfunding means we’ve only just seen the start of what each of these categories can do in terms of [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown profits jump as retail investors put money to work around Brexit February 8, 2017 Profits before tax at retail broker Hargreaves Lansdown grew by more than a fifth in the second half of 2016, as booming inflows stymied fears investors would hold on to their cash after the Brexit vote. The figures Pre-tax profits rose 21 per cent in the last six months of 2016 compared with the first half [...]
The rising tide of inflation: Investment ideas to protect your portfolio February 8, 2017 Inflation is a real bogeyman for investors, and it rankles most when you don’t see it coming. Few predicted the oil price rebound at the end of last year – a big influence on prices – or the optimism which caused yields to rise after Donald Trump’s election. The threat that rising prices will erode wealth [...]
Investing in automation: If robots are coming for your job, how can you make money out of it? February 7, 2017 "Robots are coming to take our jobs,” scream the headlines. The debate around automation has become alarmingly dichotomous – either your job requires skills which are resistant to computers and machines, or you’re destined for the scrap heap. The reality is probably more nuanced. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, it is unlikely that specific jobs [...]
Consumer credit growth and the flashing light marked ‘car financing’ February 6, 2017 | City Talk Last month, the Financial Times highlighted two “remarkable and unexpected” features of the post-Brexit UK economy – consumer spending accelerated in the second half of last year and much of this was financed by a surge in borrowing. According to the Bank of England, the article continued, consumer credit grew at an annual rate [...]
Consumer credit growth and the flashing light marked ‘car financing’ February 6, 2017 | City Talk Last month, the Financial Times highlighted two “remarkable and unexpected” features of the post-Brexit UK economy – consumer spending accelerated in the second half of last year and much of this was financed by a surge in borrowing. According to the Bank of England, the article continued, consumer credit grew at an annual rate of [...]