EU referendum: Here’s the “positive case” for staying in the EU, according to David Cameron May 27, 2016 When David Cameron set the date for the EU referendum back in February, he told the world you’d never catch him talking down Britain. A few months, some close opinion polls and a two slightly dodgy dossiers of Treasury analysis later, and that “positive case” for staying in the EU seems a distant memory. “Project Fear” [...]
World leaders declare Brexit a “serious risk to growth” May 27, 2016 World leaders have said the possibility of the UK voting to leave the European Union poses one of the most serious risks to growth in the global economy. At the end of the second day of the G7 meeting in Japan, the leaders of the seven big industrial nations, plus the European Union, said: “A [...]
Anglo American’s diamond business De Beers names new chief exec Bruce Cleaver May 27, 2016 Anglo American's De Beers said today it had appointed Bruce Cleaver as chief executive from 1 July. Cleaver will replace Philippe Mellier who decided to step down after five years at the world's biggest diamond producer. Cleaver had been group director of strategy and business development at Anglo. Prior to this, he'd served as exec director for strategy and commercial relationships at [...]
Oil prices fall back from $50 as supply concerns weigh May 27, 2016 Crude slumped today as investors worried higher prices would exacerbate the global oversupply. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 0.8 per cent to $49.2 per barrel this morning. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmarked, shed 0.8 per cent to $49.1. Read more: Oil and gas firms gear up for wave of M&A activity Oil pushed [...]
Immigration should be part of Brexit debate May 27, 2016 Back in the early days of the referendum, when (on the pro-Brexit side, at least) different factions were vying for the official designation, we heard a lot about the different tone of the contenders. One group, Leave.EU, was said to be associated more with UKIP and, therefore, would represent a campaign based more on the [...]
Forward misguidance: Unreliable central banks are fuelling market volatility May 27, 2016 At the bottom of every financial prediction or statement, often buried under mountains of small print, is a warning that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. This is true whether we look at stock markets, investment funds or central banks. Since 2013, however, some of the world’s largest financial institutions have been [...]
Pensioners could lose £32,000 if Britain leaves the EU, says Osborne May 26, 2016 Pensioners could lose £32,000 if Britain leaving the EU shocks markets, a Treasury analysis has found. The Treasury suggests that Brexit will lead to an increase in inflation and financial market turmoil which will, in turn, lead to millions of current and future pensioners being worse off. The study, which is the latest in the string of Treasury [...]
China raises £300m in London as part of first ever overseas RMB bond May 26, 2016 China's finance ministry today issued a three billion yuan (£312m) international bond, its first ever outside China or Hong Kong. The bond, set to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, was managed by HSBC and China's finance ministry. In October last year, China's central bank debuted on London markets with the sale of its first [...]
No IPO for Snapchat yet with new funding instead May 26, 2016 Messaging app of the moment Snapchat is now worth even more than everyone thought after it disclosed more than a billion dollars of new investment. The five-year old startup which has previously revealed plans for an eventual IPO, is staying private for now, having raised $1.8bn (£1.2bn) in a series F round of funding official documents filed with SEC revealed [...]
UKOG shares slump following fundraising round May 26, 2016 Shares in UK Oil & Gas Investments, the company behind the so-called Gatwick Gusher, slumped today after the announcement of a successful fundraising round. The Aim-listed firm announced today that it had raised £4m by placing 266,666,667 new shares at 1.5p each. Its shares closed down 10.8 per cent to 1.69p per share this afternoon. Read more: Ukog share price [...]