Sterling rises to highest levels for a month April 19, 2021 The pound rose to its highest levels against the dollar for a month as the UK’s recovery from the Covid-19 downturn continues. Sterling was up 1.1 per cent at $1.39 as of 9:00pm, the highest it has traded against the greenback since mid-March. Against the Euro, it was 0.7 per cent higher at €0.86. The [...]
Markets: Wall Street slips from record levels April 19, 2021 Major U.S. stock indexes fell from record levels on Monday as investors sought cues from first-quarter earnings reports to justify the rich valuation of equities. Tesla was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, with the electric-car maker down three per cent after a Tesla vehicle, which was believed to be operating [...]
Mind the GAAP! The dangers of “growth at any price” stocks April 19, 2021 | City Talk Anyone who has ever taken a subway in New York City or frequented the London Underground will be familiar with the warning to “mind the gap” between the carriage and platform. In a similar fashion, investors also need to be fully aware of the dangers posed by the GAAP, or “growth at any price” stocks. [...]
UK leads race across Europe to introduce interbank digital currency April 19, 2021 The UK is ahead of the curve when it comes to digital currency adoption, according to new research, and could A report by PwC reveals the UK is fifth in the world when it comes to preparing for the adoption of a central digital currency although a consumer offer remains a while off yet. Like [...]
Steel tycoon Gupta raised cash through circular selling April 18, 2021 Embattled tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is facing fresh questions over his Liberty Steel empire following reports the company raised cash from Greensill Capital by selling steel that it then planned to buy back itself. Liberty Steel Newport in south Wales used a circular trading scheme where it sold steel to a company with close links to [...]
Sunday Sitdown: Investors look past political changes as Brexit offers a chance to alter investment regulation, says City veteran April 18, 2021 More than 440 firms in banking and financial services have relocated part of their business, moved employees or set up new entities in the EU following Brexit. Dublin and Paris are the go-to destinations, as banks have moved or plan to move more than £900bn in assets to the EU, equivalent to 10 per cent [...]
Treasury tremors: how does the current sell-off compare with past episodes? April 16, 2021 | City Talk US Treasuries have seen the second worst start to a year and third worst quarter in 50 years. It is another eye-catching development amid what have been extreme conditions in markets and the economy over the past year. Bond markets have seen particularly unusual circumstances, with yields falling ever lower and an increasing number of [...]
Grab considers Singapore listing after US SPAC merger April 16, 2021 Ride hailing and food delivery firm Grab is reportedly mulling a secondary listing in Singapore after merging with a US-listed SPAC. The company recently finalised a merger with Altimeter Growth to go public in the US at a valuation of just under $40bn (£29bn). Grab, which was founded in 2012 and became south-east Asia’s first decacorn [...]
UK imports to EU halve in first two months of year April 16, 2021 UK imports to the EU nearly halved in the first two months since Britain left the single market, new figures this morning showed. Imports dropped 47.0 per cent over January and February, while exports of the bloc’s products back across the Channel slipped 20.2 per cent, figures from Eurostat show. As a result of the [...]
China records best ever GDP growth in post-Covid bounce-back April 16, 2021 China’s economy grew by the fastest rate in its history as the country left last year’s lockdowns far behind. The world’s second biggest economy saw GDP grew 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period the year before. It is the fastest rate of growth since China began tracking [...]