Bitcoin drops as global pressures on cryptocurrencies rise June 24, 2018 Bitcoin has fallen to its lowest level yet this year in the wake of tougher global action and increased scrutiny of the world’s biggest virtual currency. The cryptocurrency fell over five per cent today from $5,920 (£4,462) to $5,825, having reached a high of nearly $20,000 late last year. As the first decentralised digital currency, [...]
Central bankers warn of recession risk from ‘debt trap’ to global economy June 24, 2018 The global economy risks falling into a “debt trap” in developed markets and particularly in China, according to a warning issued today by an influential central banking body. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said nations must tread a “narrow path” to avert disaster in the next slowdown, in its annual report on the state [...]
Bitcoin slumps to four-month low as Japanese financial regulator issues money laundering warning June 23, 2018 There was more bad news for cryptocurrency investors yesterday as Bitcoin crashed to a four-month low after Japan's financial regulator warned six digital currency exchanges to improve their anti-laundering systems. Bitcoin's price fell as low as $6,085.59 on Bitstamp, and came close to hitting its lowest level for the year of just below $6,000. Despite [...]
Bank of England surprises with a hawkish hold June 21, 2018 | City Talk When the Bank of England held rates at its May meeting it was merely reaffirming what governor Mark Carney had warned the markets about only a few weeks previously at the IMF meetings in Washington. Up until those comments by the Bank of England governor a rate rise was more or less a done deal [...]
Bank of England must hold interest rates and wait for signs of a rebound says shadow MPC June 20, 2018 City economists are all but certain the Bank of England will not announce a rise in interest rates tomorrow, with City A.M.’s shadow monetary policy committee (MPC) voting unanimously to hold fire. The Bank’s top economists have made it clear that they see rising upward pressures on wages, a key component of domestically generated inflation, [...]
UK-based ‘six sigma’-style software company iNexus to float in London June 20, 2018 Software company iNexus said today that it is set to float on London’s junior market AIM tomorrow. The Coventry-headquartered company is a ‘software as a service’ business which provides a cloud-based platform to companies to help with continuous improvement and strategy execution. Its software supports Hoshin Kanri, a strategy development method, first introduced the 1960s [...]
DEBATE: Greece is the EU’s former problem child, but is it now finally out of the woods? June 20, 2018 Greece is the EU’s former problem child, but is it now finally out of the woods? Emiel van den Heiligenberg, head of asset allocation at Legal & General Asset Management, says YES. Greek GDP data for the first quarter brought good news: year-on-year growth has increased to 2.3 per cent, the strongest since mid-2008. That [...]
Why Opec matters June 20, 2018 | City Talk Whether we like it or not oil prices matter, as they affect everything connected with a modern economy, from movement of goods and services, to the amount of disposable incomes for ordinary consumers. That is why this week’s Opec meeting is important in the context of future direction for oil prices, which have risen over [...]
European equities: Profit growth continues to drive the rally June 19, 2018 In his European equity funds Berenberg European Focus Fund and Berenberg Eurozone Focus Fund, which were launched in early October 2017, fund manager Matthias Born focuses on enterprises with stable profit growth. And so naturally he is delighted that corporate profits in Europe rose strongly again in 2017, for the first time in a long [...]
The NHS needs reform and automation, not a politically motivated bidding war June 19, 2018 It was the worst kept secret in Westminster, but we finally heard over the weekend that the NHS will receive a funding boost of around £20bn a year. As with public sector pay increases, the Conservatives perhaps feel that they have to loosen the purse strings a little, given the scare they got at the [...]