The Twitter news merry-go-round increases volatility in financial markets, study says April 13, 2016 Investors who threat the merry-go-round of news and opinion about stocks on social media as if it were brand new information are stirring up volatility in the financial markets. While this will come as no to surprise to most market mavens, now researchers Pieran Jiao, Andre Veiga and Ansgar Walther over at Oxford University have been able to quantify by how much. Their [...]
Stocks surge on strong Chinese trade figures, while Tesco’s return to profit proves every little doesn’t help April 13, 2016 Strong trade data from China was enough to offset disappointing results from Tesco this morning and push UK stocks to their highest level of the year. Gobal shares rallied on the latest sign that the process of rebalacing in the world’s second largest economy is on course. Exports from China jumped by 11.5 per cent in March in dollar terms [...]
The Financial Conduct Authority wants to alter the IPO process – potentially changing how the blackout period works April 13, 2016 Alright, so the IPO market may not exactly be booming at the moment – but the UK's financial watchdog thinks it needs to be more tightly regulated all the same. In an interim report published today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has put forward a package of measures aimed at putting an end to "potentially anti-competitive [...]
House prices: London and regional rental prices climbed higher in March April 13, 2016 London rents rose by 7.7 per cent in the year to March as demand for rental property in the capital remained strong, new research shows. However, HomeLet said that the data comes ahead of reforms that are predicted to have a major impact within the sector, including a stamp duty increase for buy-to-let properties, and could tell [...]
UK bricks and mortar retailers lack relevant e-commerce experience at board level, claims report April 12, 2016 British retailers lack relevant e-commerce experience on the boards, a new study by a leading global executive search firm has found, putting them at risk of falling further behind by their online-only rivals. According to DHR International, only five per cent of executive directors at the leading UK-listed bricks and mortar retail companies have an online background, placing the high street at a [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil climbs even higher amid rising optimism over freeze meeting April 12, 2016 Oil prices burst into life this afternoon, extending earlier gains after a report suggested Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to freeze output ahead of a widely anticipated meeting in Doha on Sunday. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a diplomatic source in Doha saying the two countries had reached a consensus about an output freeze [...]
The Brixton Pound now has a cash machine – but opening hours may be a problem… April 12, 2016 There we were, thinking local currencies had been replaced by bitcoin hysteria. But it turns out one local currency is soldiering on – and has now gone as far as to get its own cashpoints. Today the creators of the Brixton Pound unveiled their latest innovation – an ATM. But there's one significant drawback: the [...]
Opec faced with waning influence in the global oil markets April 12, 2016 Generally speaking the winners of the oil price slump have been big oil-importing economies such as the US, Europe, and China, while Opec oil-exporting states and other big exporters such as Russia are among the losers. The American and European economies are getting a fillip from reduced energy import costs and their consumers are enjoying [...]
Should we trust today’s forecasts from the IMF? April 12, 2016 The half-yearly growth forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are a big deal. They move markets, shape local politics and are generally relied upon around the world. But how accurate are they? Depending on your take, today's substantial revisions are either an indicator or rapid change and sharp volatility, or bring into question the [...]
Osborne welcomes Brexit warning from IMF as it cuts outlook for UK growth April 12, 2016 Brexit could cause major instability to the UK, European and world economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned in its latest forecasts for global growth, as Brexit campaigners rounded on the group for "talking down Britain". "A 'Brexit' could do severe regional and global damage," the IMF predicted, as it cut its outlook for growth [...]