US jobs figures ‘so bad they’re good’ as 140,000 lose roles amid Covid-19 surge January 8, 2021 Non-farm payrolls show US jobs declined in December as Covid-19 cases surged
FTSE 100 reverses gains but Wall Street shrugs off grim jobs data January 8, 2021 London markets have exited a global rally of share indices, with the FTSE 100 now flat
Scotland’s fishermen halt EU exports amidst post-Brexit ‘catastrophe’ January 8, 2021 Scottish fishermen have reportedly frozen exports to the EU due to a sudden rise in export costs and skewed delivery times after post-Brexit delays at ports. Fishing export businesses are faced with the introduction of health certificates, customs declarations and other paperwork increase export costs and timings. “Our customers are pulling out,” Santiago Buesa of [...]
GDP will take less of a hit in third lockdown: ING January 7, 2021 After nearly a year of coronavirus restrictions the effect of a third lockdown on the UK economy will be less severe than the initial shock last March, in part because companies are far better prepared. News of a mutant Covid strain that is more transmissible and has sent cases skyrocketing will see GDP dip around [...]
FTSE 100 stutters after touching 6,900 but Wall Street pushes on January 7, 2021 The FTSE 100 stuttered today after touching 6,900 points this morning in yet another fast open to trading, but US markets traded higher again. London’s premier index rose 0.8 per cent at the open to stand at 6,903 points, its highest level since before the pandemic. However, traders soon slammed on the breaks, with the [...]
Equity funds ride ‘coronacoaster’ to finish 2020 on a high January 7, 2021 Global equity funds closed a torrid year on a record high as investors were buoyed by news of a vaccine rollout. November saw savers invest a record £8.3bn, beating the previous record of £5.7bn net retail sales from September 2017, according to data from the Investment Association (IA). With interest rates at almost zero investors [...]
Will Europe’s smaller companies deliver big returns? January 7, 2021 | Sponsored European equities have been largely unloved by investors for some time, having lagged their global peers over the past decade: the MSCI Europe ex UK Index has grown by circa 6% pa whilst the MSCI World Index is up circa 11% pa. European smaller companies have fared markedly better than their large cap counterparts however, [...]
TP ICAP launches rights issue to fund Liquidnet deal January 7, 2021 Interdealer broker TP ICAP is seeking a £315m rights issue to fund its acquisition of electronic trading network Liquidnet Holdings. The rights issue is expected to result in the issue of 225.3m shares for qualifying shareholders equivalent to 40 per cent of the existing share capital base. The FTSE-250 listed firm announced the deal in [...]
London set for IPO ‘bonanza’ in 2021 January 7, 2021 Building on the momentum seen towards the end of last year, IPO activity in the capital is set to surge this year. After a pause in the first half of the year as the pandemic took hold, activity started to re-emerge by the end of the summer before a significant uptick in the last quarter. [...]
FTSE 100 roars to highest closing level since early March January 6, 2021 The FTSE 100 charged higher today as the blue-chip bourse closed at its highest levels since before the Covid-19 pandemic beared down on the UK in early March.