Elon Musk’s fall should bring our stratospheric expectations down to earth July 20, 2018 Stop what you’re doing, everyone. Elon Musk – serial entrepreneur, space crusader, and cult figure to climate progressives – has given us the one thing we never expected to see from him: an apology. The Tesla founder had little choice. While the world was celebrating the miraculous rescue of the 12 boys and their football [...]
Regulators Wrangling Crypto Coins and Successful ICOs with Their Own Novel Challenge July 17, 2018 The biggest debate around ICOs, coins and tokens has been what they really are. The real answer is that they can play so many different roles that they’re not like anything else. On top of which this blockchain technology allows us to create digital entities, or assets, which have no previous equivalent. This is no [...]
Oil bulls at risk of being complacent July 17, 2018 | City Talk Crude oil prices have continued to struggle today with Brent prices trading near three month lows. Recent weakness in commodity prices appears to be starting to act as a bit of a drag on equity markets more broadly, with the current weakness in Brent crude oil suggesting contrary to some indications that we may well [...]
Trump’s in town, traders beware July 12, 2018 | City Talk President Trump arrives in the UK today on his first UK state visit. The unconventional leader has been ruffling feathers, and has not been afraid to stand up for American interests. Theresa May will be on a charm offensive as the prime minister will be seeking a positive trading relationship with the US, especially with [...]
Litigation funder Augusta completes £150m financing round to pedal expansion plans July 10, 2018 Litigation funder Augusta has successfully completed a £150m financing round from institutional and private investors as its business moves into the next phase of expansion. Augusta, whose main markets are in the UK and Australia, says the boosted finances will enable it to fund disputes of a bigger size and scope and reach other jurisdictions [...]
Britain’s perception of immigration improves dramatically July 10, 2018 British people's perceptions of the impact of immigration improved markedly between 2015 and 2017, according to an authoritative survey published today. The British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, which canvasses the opinions of almost 4,000 respondents, found that 47 per cent of Britons think that immigration has a "good" impact on the economy – a striking [...]
TP ICap shares sink more than 30 per cent as it parts ways with chief executive and warns on higher costs July 10, 2018 Shares in the world's largest interdealer broker TP Icap sunk more than 30 per cent this morning, after the company said it had parted ways with its chief executive, and warned earnings would come in below expectations. Ahead of the group's interim results for the six months to 30 June to be announced next month, [...]
Ocado delivers mixed results July 10, 2018 | City Talk Ocado revealed a mixed set of first-half results. Revenue rose by 12.1 per cent to £799 million, while EBITDA slipped by 13.9 per cent to £38.9 million. When you factor in depreciation, amortisation, impairments and net finance costs the company swung to a loss of £9 million. The CFO expects the full-year pre-tax loss to [...]
UK keeps crown as best in Europe for financial services investment July 9, 2018 The UK has kept its crown as the top location in Europe for financial services investment, despite Brexit uncertainty causing projects to decline. In 2017, UK financial services brought in 78 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, higher than any other country in Europe, although it was down from record levels of 106 the year before. [...]
Taxes are too high and too complicated – it’s time for urgent reform July 9, 2018 A week ago, this newspaper bemoaned the government's drift towards tax rises – and the lack of any proper low-tax Tories coming to the fore. Without a doubt, Jeremy Corbyn's Labour has shifted the Overton Window (the range of policies deemed acceptable by politicians) and the debate now largely concerns which taxes to raise and [...]