Bitcoin: Is it starting to feel like 2017 all over again? June 27, 2019 | City Talk By Gary McFarlane from interactive investor. Bitcoin’s decisive break above the psychologically important $10,000 mark – with $11,000 breached over the weekend and in sight again – is being driven by institutional investors and the afterglow from Facebook’s Libra news, despite the regulatory and political pushback against Mark Zuckerberg’s global money plans. Also, the recommendations, as expected, from [...]
Podcast: Why invest in AIM shares? June 27, 2019 | City Talk AIM is 24 years-old! To celebrate, our head of equity strategy Lee Wild and head of markets Richard Hunter discuss why it can be a happy hunting ground for investors, and how to do it successfully. AIM was launched in 1995, has a combined market capitalisation of more than £70 billion, and is home to [...]
Calling the data doctor: How Chronomics wants to educate you about your epigenetics June 27, 2019 How old are you? A simple enough question, you may think, but not for Dr Tom Stubbs, co-founder and chief executive of epigenetic testing company Chronomics. Epigenetics is (to quote the Chronomics website) the study of heritable phenotype changes that do not involve alteration in the DNA sequence. It’s essentially how environmental factors – from [...]
On-the-shelf idea: Time to get our libraries booked for business June 27, 2019 There has been much debate around the demise of the high street. Big brands are going under, and there is an increasing number of empty shops littering the retail landscape. As a passionate retailer and entrepreneur, I find this a depressing sight. But in all the debate around business rates, the threat of online, and [...]
Why ASOS just dived to a multi-month low June 26, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. With an impressive recovery in 2019 unwinding in spectacular fashion, how far will the shares fall? A downgrade for ASOS (LSE:ASC) shares yesterday flagged margin pressures as the former high-flying stock attempts to drive global expansion in the face of fast-fashion rivals including Boohoo (LSE:BOO). The note from UBS analyst Olivia Townsend suggests that recent [...]
Nicky Morgan: Asset managers should expect more scrutiny after Woodford scandal June 26, 2019 The chair of the Treasury Committee, Nicky Morgan, has said she expects the asset management sector to face more oversight after Neil Woodford’s flagship fund was suspended earlier this month. Morgan said that her committee would get behind increased scrutiny from the Financial Conduct Authority in the wake of the scandal. Read more: FCA chief [...]
Transferwise expands to the US with digital banking effort June 26, 2019 Fintech stalwart Transferwise has lifted the lid on its expansion to the US, opening up access to its banking arm across the Atlantic. One year on from its launch in Europe, Transferwise’s borderless banking account and debit card will be available to US users from today after a short beta-testing period last month. The firm [...]
Feeling lactose intolerant? A guide to office milk etiquette June 26, 2019 “Got milk?” The answer, if you’re reading this in the office or on your commute, is probably “no”. And if “yes”, it will be followed with “but not for much longer”. We’re all having a good laugh this week at the employee of Doncaster Council, who took the ingrained culture of petty office protectionism to [...]
Regulator steps up scrutiny of fintech banks June 26, 2019 Applications to become the next Monzo or Revolut are falling under greater scrutiny, as regulators act on concerns about risk management. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) only approved four applications for banking licences in the 12 months to the end of February, down from 14 in the previous year. However the number of applications remained [...]
Freetrade to close £7m in second crowdfunding round June 25, 2019 Fintech startup Freetrade is set to raise £5m in a crowdfunding round this week, after its last funding attempt got cut short due to excessive demand from investors. The commission-free stock-trading app last headed to the crowd in April. It raised £2m within a matter of minutes, before investment platform Crowdcube crashed due to too [...]
