Investor confidence index drops to four-year low after Brexit vote July 11, 2016 Investor confidence has hit a four-year low after the EU referendum result, according to one index. The Hargreaves Lansdown Investor Confidence Index experienced its sharpest monthly fall in five years at the end of June. The index fell from 92 points in May to 67 on 30 June, its lowest value since May 2012, a [...]
Shoppers delayed big ticket purchases in June, while consumer spending hit a two-year quarterly low July 11, 2016 Britons put big ticket purchases on hold last month as consumer spending fell to its lowest quarterly level in two years. Spending across all categories grew by 0.9 per cent in June, up from a 27-month low of 0.8 per cent in May, contributing to a sluggish rise in consumer spending of 1.4 per cent [...]
Brexit “terrible” for London – but my asset management firm can only benefit July 11, 2016 Christophe Evain, the French chief executive of FTSE 250 alternative asset manager Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), does not hold back when asked for his view on Brexit. “I think that the result is a terrible one,” he says, speaking to City A.M. from his firm’s offices in St Paul’s Churchyard. “I think the impact on [...]
Week ahead: Fashion retailers and builders are in the spotlight July 11, 2016 Alongside the Bank of England’s first meeting after the UK voted to quit the European Union it will be a busy week of corporate numbers. Bank of England officials announce their monetary policy decision on Thursday and many economists are expecting a loosening of interest rates. The FTSE 100 rose to its highest level in [...]
GLI Finance Louise Beaumont says the industry is becoming increasingly dog eat dog July 7, 2016 Like all parts of financial services, the alternative finance sector is coming to terms with the post-referendum landscape and what the Brexit decision means for the future. This comes on top of the ongoing issues at US marketplace lender Lending Club which have continued to attract negative headlines. With the tectonic plates of alternative lending continuing [...]
Hedge fund managers find positives in Brexit vote July 6, 2016 Hedge fund managers are finding positives in last month's Brexit vote, a new survey has found. Some 31 per cent of 67 surveyed by Preqin expect a positive short-term impact from the vote to Leave the EU, and nine per cent predicted a longer-term boost. Just 13 per cent of those surveyed anticipated a negative [...]
Columbia Threadneedle’s property funds become the latest to suspend trading July 6, 2016 Columbia Threadneedle has become the latest firm to suspend trading on property funds. Both the Threadneedle UK Property Authorised Investment Fund (Threadneedle PAIF) and the Threadneedle UK Property Authorised Trust suspended at 12pm on Wednesday. It follows Aviva, M&G, Henderson, Standard Life and Canada Life in suspending trading on UK property funds. Read more: Fourth property fund suspension announced [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 6, 2016 Sterling and bond yields continue to slide, though gold has been labelled as the go-to investment for the rest of the year. Here's what you need to know before the US market opens at 2:30pm London time. US stock futures are not looking good ahead of the open. The S&P is down by 0.62 per cent, the Nasdaq is [...]
Pensions under threat from Brexit July 6, 2016 Savers have faced the biggest shake-up to the pensions system in a generation under the watch of chancellor George Osborne. Many of the changes are controversial, and others have been announced yet not formalised. But Brexit has put a spanner in the works – as negotiations over a deal with Europe under a new Conservative leader [...]
Canada is the world’s best-performing investment market this year July 5, 2016 Canada has been the best-performing stock market in the world this year, defying the knock-on effects of Brexit carnage to give investors double-digit returns. The MSCI Canada index has risen 15.5 per cent year to date in US dollar terms compared to just 1.6 per cent from the MSCI All Countries World index. Many global stock [...]