Investment bank issues warning about “dangerous” trend of shorting the fear index August 22, 2016 One of the world's top investment banks has warned that financial markets are entering "dangerous" territory as investors eye up increasingly exotic products in the search for returns. In a note to clients, entitled "dangerous yield chasing", the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) today raised a "red flag" over the "worrisome trend" of investors selling [...]
We’ve already spent more via contactless than in all of 2015 August 22, 2016 People are swiping their card rather than splashing the physical cash these days as new figures reveal payments made with contactless technology have already overtaken the amount spent in the whole of 2015. Just over £9bn was spent using contactless in the first half of the year compared to £7.75bn in the the entire of last year, the new [...]
Study shows low market volatility leads to banking crises August 22, 2016 Beware the calm before the storm. A new report has found periods of low volatility in the financial markets increase the chance of a banking crisis. Researchers from the London School of Economics (LSE), the University of Chile and the US Federal Reserve studied more than 200 years of economic history across 60 countries, finding spells of more predictable [...]
Aim-listed explorer Europa Oil & Gas finds up to 600m barrels of oil off Irish coast August 22, 2016 Aim-listed Europa Oil & Gas said today that one of its licences in the Atlantic basins, just off the coast of Ireland, potentially contains between 300m and 600m barrels of oil equivalent. Europa has a 100 per cent interest in, and is operator of, seven licences in the Atlantic basins offshore Ireland including LO 16/22, which covers [...]
New poll claims the skills shortage is crippling the construction industry August 22, 2016 The skills shortage in the construction sector is at “breaking point” according to a new survey of project managers and contractors. Six in ten senior decision-makers in the industry said they believed the quality of their work was suffering due to a lack of experienced staff, while one in ten said low supply of skilled [...]
Brexit and Trump fears push supply chain risk index to three-year high August 22, 2016 Geopolitical risks have spiked to their highest level for three years, threatening to cause widespread disruption for firms that ship goods and people around the world. A quarterly monitor of "supply chain risk", which charts the potential for economic and political threats to upset worldwide trade, has climbed off the back of the UK's vote [...]
Keep calm and carry on: City giants play down Brexit hit August 22, 2016 The City's top financial services firms are keeping calm and carrying on in the face of the UK’s shock vote to leave the European Union, according to new research from accountancy giant EY published today. After tracking every public statement from 232 banks, insurers, asset managers, fintech firms and private equity houses since the vote, [...]
Insulation firm Autins set for £26m Aim IPO August 22, 2016 Autins Group, a car insulation manufacturer that reduces noise from the engines of Bentleys and Range Rovers, will begin trading on London’s junior Alternative Investment Market (Aim) today. Autins has raised £26.6m through a placing of new and existing shares, giving the group a market capitalisation of around £37.1m. The group plans to use the [...]
Misys moves closer to London’s biggest float of 2016 by appointing City advisers August 21, 2016 Misys has appointed City advisers for what would be the biggest stock market float in London this year. The banking software developer, which is owned by US buyout firm Vista Equity Partners, is planning a £5.5bn initial public offering (IPO). Read more: Misys could return to the stock exchange City A.M. has confirmed a report that [...]
Janet Yellen to talk interest rates and Fed shake-up at Jackson Hole August 21, 2016 The Federal Reserve's No. 2 ratesetter has signalled the US economy should prepare for a rate rise in the near future, as Janet Yellen gears up to make a key intervention at the annual central bankers' gathering at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Stanley Fischer, vice chairman of the Fed said this afternoon he believed the US would [...]