Thirty years since Big Bang: The deregulation of the London Stock Exchange democratised investing October 26, 2016 Thirty years have passed since the City of London was radically recast by a package of Thatcherite reforms, known as Big Bang. These saw the privatisation of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), allowed outside companies – not just individuals – to become members, and ushered in the automatic quotation of share prices. The product of [...]
UK missing out on £45bn millennials dividend October 26, 2016 The UK could be £45bn richer if more young people were in work or education, a new report has claimed. Consultants at PwC also found the UK lags most of the world’s major economies in terms of the opportunities available to young people, which could be stifling economic growth. Britain comes in 21st out of [...]
Mark Carney says political attacks on Bank of England knock the pound October 25, 2016 Mark Carney has warned that threats to the Bank of England’s independence could see sterling slump even further and cause investors to flee UK assets. The Threadneedle Street governor told Lords on the economic affairs committee this afternoon that central bank independence had “stood the test of time” and could not be “called into question” [...]
Here we go again: Sterling falls as markets show their nerves ahead of Carney meeting October 25, 2016 It seems markets' nerves have become too much to bear ahead of an appearance by Mark Carney before a committee in the House of Lords later today – while the chancellor didn't give them much cause for confidence. The pound fell 1.1 per cent against the dollar, to $1.2009, in mid-afternoon trading – its lowest since the so-called flash crash [...]
Occulus Rift, but for energy: how virtual reality could shake up utility firm performance October 25, 2016 Humans have a hard time with processing numbers. The fact is that our brains are much better at processing images and colours. Give a human a relatively simple math problem like dividing two large numbers by one another and it can take them several minutes to work out the answer. By contrast, humans are great at understanding [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open October 25, 2016 Apple sales are expected to fall sharply and Twitter is planning another round of job cuts. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing higher ahead of the open, though only slightly. The S&P is up by 0.09 per cent, the Nasdaq is 0.14 per [...]
UK flotation market sinks to four-year low amid Brexit uncertainty October 25, 2016 Activity on the UK’s flotation market has sunk to a four-year low amid Brexit uncertainty. However, while the main market has struggled, London’s junior market, the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), has thrived this year. Overall, there were 41 initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first nine months of the year, the lowest number since 2012. [...]
The devil you know, the devil you don’t: How to protect your investments whoever wins the US election October 25, 2016 As polling day draws near, it is regrettable that the contest to become the 45th President of the United States has been more about personality than policy. The campaign has been distinguished on one side by preposterous promises to suspend the entry of Muslims into the country and build a hard border with Mexico, and [...]
Saudi Arabia’s bonds have broken the record for an emerging market issue, but are they good value? October 25, 2016 With three huge sovereign bond debuts, this has been a bumper year for emerging market government debt issues. First came Argentina, with a record-breaking $16.5bn (£13.5bn) sale in April, followed the next month by a $9bn issue from Qatar – double the amount it had originally planned for. Both were overawed last week, however, when [...]
Resurgent protectionism threatens both the US economy and share prices – and not just if Trump wins October 24, 2016 Protectionism – the practice of shielding a country’s industry from foreign competition – and the prospect of a descent into a beggar-thy-neighbour global trade war is one of the biggest risks to investment returns over the next decade. Indeed, politicians are already succumbing: according to the Global Trade Alert initiative, the number of protectionist measures enacted [...]