When did making money in tech become so unfashionable? December 10, 2019 It is commonly accepted that technology companies have irrevocably changed the world we live in. This is especially true in the finance industry where fintech companies are successfully disrupting the status quo, forcing incumbent firms to evolve alongside these new challengers. While competition and technological innovation in any market is to be welcomed with open [...]
Drax aims to be world’s first carbon negative company by 2030 December 10, 2019 Drax, the UK power generation company, will this morning become the world’s first company to announce its ambition to become carbon negative by 2030. Chief executive Will Gardiner will tell the Madrid climate conference that scaled-up deployment of new technology like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (Beccs) will enable Drax to remove more carbon [...]
Opec production cuts compliance could push oil price to $70 December 9, 2019 The combination of strong compliance of Opec and its allies with production cuts and a US-China trade deal could push the price of Brent crude to $70 by the second quarter of 2020. According to a note from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, last week’s agreement to curb production by an additional 500,000 barrels a [...]
Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker dies aged 92 December 9, 2019 Paul Volcker, the Federal Reserve chairman who slayed rampant US inflation in the 1970s and 1980s, has died aged 92. The towering figure of international finance passed away on Monday, his daughter told the New York Times. He had reportedly been suffering from prostate cancer. Read more: The economy is slowing – can central bankers [...]
How global cities are promoting sustainability and helping to fight climate change December 9, 2019 | City Talk The 2016 Paris Agreement gave the world a sense of hope that politicians could work together to limit temperature rises to 2 degrees centigrade. However, much has changed since the milestone agreement. More frequent extreme weather events, increasing political nationalism and growing economic inequality are making the goal of a carbon neutral world by 2050 [...]
Asian markets subdued ahead of key US-China tariff deadline December 9, 2019 Asian stocks edged up on Monday following surprisingly strong US jobs data, but gains were subdued amid concerns over the ongoing US-China trade war. Concerns over Chinese economic slowdown due to the prolonged trade battle hit Asian equities as investors awaited news of whether the US will go ahead with plans to raise tariffs on [...]
London economy outperforms rest of UK ahead of General Election December 9, 2019 London’s economy continued to outperform the rest of the UK in November, survey data has revealed, with the capital’s businesses enjoying a recovery in new orders as the rest of the country struggled. New product releases, increased investment in marketing, and higher demand from US clients were some of the factors behind higher sales, according [...]
Softbank’s second Vision Fund set to come in underweight December 8, 2019 The giant Japanese investment fund Softbank is dialing down its ambitions for the second of its Vision Funds after failed bets on firms such as Wework and Uber dragged the company to its first quarterly loss in 14 years. Softbank’s first Vision Fund two years ago raised around $100bn (£76bn) from backers including the Saudi [...]
John McDonnell outlines plans to borrow extra £58bn for Waspi women pledge December 8, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has defended the Labour party’s plans to borrow the vast majority of the £58bn of pension compensation it has promised 1950s-born women. Challenged over how Labour would pay for the expensive election pledge on BBC’s Andrew Marr show, McDonnell said: “We will borrow, and I don’t shy away from that, because [...]
Chinese exports unexpectedly drop as trade war takes a toll December 8, 2019 China’s exports suffered a shock fall in November and contracted for the fourth month in a row, official data showed today, as the world’s second-largest economy struggled to cope with the US trade war. Yet imports fared better than expected, suggesting Beijing’s programme of domestic stimulus could yet boost the slowing economy. Read more: US [...]