London fintech Currensea launches product for small businesses October 5, 2020 London-based fintech Currensea has today launched a debit card for SMEs, built on open banking, to help with overseas transactions. The first-of-its-kind debit card enables small businesses to make international transactions through their existing bank account without any bank charges and with low fees competitive with leading challenger banks. The new Mastercard, which costs just [...]
Are you motivated by morals or money? October 2, 2020 | City Talk Investing is a personal choice and a number of influences will hold sway over where you put your money. Your personal value system is one such influence and, for most people, this appears to be non-negotiable. More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of investors refuse to compromise on their personal beliefs when investing, even if [...]
Kazakhstan fintech Kaspi plans London IPO October 2, 2020 Kazakh banking and fintech firm Kaspi has confirmed plans to float on the London Stock Exchange this month. Kaspi, which controls the third-largest bank in Kazakhstan, said it plans to sell new and existing shares by listing its Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) on the stock exchange. The company did not reveal what stake its shareholders [...]
Spotting the right opportunity, at the right time October 1, 2020 | City Talk For an active trader, volatility always represents opportunity. As the most traded commodity in the world, this is especially the case for traders in the oil markets. Oil has traditionally been viewed as a relatively safe bet. While there are countless examples of a stock price dropping greater than 50 per cent in an instant [...]
Is flexible pay set to be the next ‘on-demand’ service? September 30, 2020 | City Talk FinTech disruption in the payments market has come full circle; from early innovations in ways to pay, some players are now revolutionising how people get paid. The payments sector has been at the forefront of the FinTech revolution over the past decade reconfiguring supply, demand and purchasing patterns between vendors and consumers across the globe. [...]
Could decarbonisation be the mega-trend of the next decade? September 28, 2020 | City Talk US equities have led global stock markets higher over the past decade. In the last ten years, US equities have returned a stellar 292%, compared to just 73% for global equities (as measured by the MSCI USA Index and MSCI AC World ex US Index respectively, in US dollar terms, as at 31 August 2020). [...]
Retail trading – don’t become a one-trick pony September 28, 2020 | City Talk The markets around the world have recently been a hive of activity and volatility. When this occurs, it presents a multitude of potential trading opportunities. This has given birth to a new breed of traders accessing their platforms. The average trader nowadays does not want to be confined to a single asset class or product; [...]
Royal London in talks with LV= over £500m tie-up September 26, 2020 Royal London is in negotiations with fellow financial services provider LV= regarding a tie-up and could reach an agreement within days. A deal would see the groups merge their pensions, life insurance and asset managements businesses, according to Sky News. The transaction would end LV=’s 177-year status as an independent business and create a “mutual [...]
UK investments remain resilient in the face of pandemic September 24, 2020 Total investments in the UK are set to near pre-pandemic levels this summer despite a torrid year for global markets amid the coronavirus crisis. Total assets under management (AUM) by members of the Investment Association (IA) reached a record high of £8.5 trillion at the end of 2019, a 10 per cent increase on the [...]
The “homebody economy” – investing in your digital back yard September 23, 2020 | City Talk It is clear that UK shares are unloved. No likes, no shares, no new friend requests. The level of gloom surrounding this market is remarkable even amongst UK based investors, who, you might think, should feel more comfortable investing here. This is not just pandemic queasiness. Although the UK economy is service-led to some extent, [...]
