Stop being defeatist, Britain is still a geopolitical powerhouse January 10, 2019 Over the past few years, the drumbeat of British declinism has grown steadily louder. Last year, former Prime Minister Sir John Major claimed that the UK was going to become a “middle-sized, middle-ranking nation”, while Sir Simon McDonald, the head of the diplomatic service, described the country as “medium-sized”. True, the declinist rumble has haunted the [...]
Sterling falls as investor fears of a general election grow after Theresa May’s second Commons defeat in 24 hours January 10, 2019 Sterling has dropped against the euro and the dollar this morning after Theresa May suffered another bruising Commons defeat ramping up investor fears of a general election. The pound fell to a weekly low against the euro of €1.105 before recovering slightly and also slid 0.2 per cent against the dollar. It comes after a [...]
Digital finance technology is wonderful, but we must design it with consumers’ best interests at heart January 10, 2019 Every morning, I browse my phone as I commute to work. I check my emails, the news, Twitter, and increasingly I open my various finance apps. I recently logged into my investment platform app and made a new investment – £1,000 in a startup Swedish retailer. Once the money was invested, I was applauded with [...]
Mifid II launched one year ago and financial brokers are embracing the opportunity January 10, 2019 A year ago, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, commonly referred to as Mifid II, came into force. Arguably the most ambitious and wide-sweeping regulatory reform of the financial services industry in the last decade, it was touted as the death knell of sell-side equity research. Mifid II’s aim was to enhance transparency and [...]
Behavioural science at work: The logic of being illogical January 10, 2019 In real life, imagine if everyone we met was like Jordan Belfort from The Wolf of Wall Street. Unlike for TV, it wouldn’t make for very interesting watching. Why? Because in the real world, we are all united by our differences, as well as our similarities. In an age of personalisation, understanding how individuals react [...]
Short sellers release pressure on construction outsourcing giant Kier Group January 9, 2019 A period of sustained pressure from short sellers on contractor Kier Group has come to an end, with hedge funds cashing out on the company's stock market woes throughout December. At the end of November, 13.98 per cent of Kier’s shares – worth £102m – were held by short sellers betting against the company. That [...]
Oil prices continue strong start to 2019 as Saudi cuts exports further January 9, 2019 Oil has ticked upwards again today for its eighth straight session as Opec cuts in the New Year and hopes US-China trade talks pushed prices up. Brent crude smashed back through the $60 per barrel milestone for the first time in three weeks as it gained 2.8 per cent by mid afternoon. However by 4pm [...]
Will this be a year for investors to fear? January 9, 2019 A new year always offers the chance of a reset, of evolved thoughts, ideas and insights. Even though many will be pleased to see the back of 2018, numerous investors are beginning this year with new concerns: an oncoming recession. This fear seems suddenly rampant among many of my colleagues in the industry. But these fears [...]
Eurozone unemployment falls to decade low in shock boost for embattled bloc January 9, 2019 Unemployment in the eurozone has dropped below eight per cent for the first time in a decade in a surprising boost for the embattled single currency bloc. The number of people unemployed fell by 90,000, with the rate dropping to 7.9 per cent in November from eight per cent in October, the EU’s statistical office [...]
Housebuilders lead the way as FTSE climbs to four-week highs January 9, 2019 The FTSE 100 has climbed one per cent in early trading as US-China trade talks and a housebuilder boost continued the index’s bright start to the year. The blue chip index has now risen 2.6 per cent so far this year as the third day of trade negotiations between the world’s two largest economies further [...]