Trainline IPO: Ticket app shares surge in £1.7bn debut June 21, 2019 Trainline’s shares soared on their first day of trading today after the tech giant made its £1.7bn stock market debut. Read more: Trainline chases £1.5bn IPO The train travel booking app priced its shares at 350p each in its initial public offering (IPO) today, to value the firm at £1.68bn. And Trainline’s share price jumped [...]
DEBATE: Slack has gone public with a direct listing, but is this type of ‘non-IPO’ just a fad? June 21, 2019 Slack has gone public with a direct listing, but is this type of ‘non-IPO’ just a fad? Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, says YES. Direct listings can work, and you may well get superior price discovery, but they’re suitable only for a relatively small number of firms and will never replace the traditional [...]
Climate protests get ugly as City waves goodbye to Hammond June 21, 2019 Two of the most powerful custodians of the UK economy last night laid out their vision for how the financial sector can thrive after they leave office. Addressing a City audience in the heart of the Square Mile, chancellor Philip Hammond announced a major review into financial regulation as the banking sector undergoes rapid change and Britain prepares to leave the European Union. [...]
BoE’s Mark Carney cautiously welcomes Facebook’s new currency Libra June 20, 2019 The Bank of England today said it will treat Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency Libra with an “open mind”, and announced measures to prepare for the coming “payments revolution”. Read more: Facebook confirms launch of own cryptocurrency In a speech in the City’s Mansion House tonight, the Bank’s governor Mark Carney will praise Libra’s potential to “substantially [...]
Britain smashes annual record for coal-free power – in just six months June 20, 2019 Britain smashed another record for not burning coal from energy today as it moves towards eliminating the fuel by 2025. British power plants have now stood idle for 1,976 hours so far this year, more than in all of 2018. Read more: Carbon chief: A green economy will be cheaper than you think It has [...]
Gold hits five-year high on dovish Fed June 20, 2019 Gold prices hit a five-year high today after dovish signals from the US Federal Reserve put pressure on the dollar. Spot gold hit $1,380.96 per ounce, its highest peak since March 2014. Read more: Gold, the Federal Reserve, and the dollar – what’s driving up precious metal prices? It follows a a rise of around [...]
London forex broker Argentex goes public in £120m float June 20, 2019 London foreign exchange broker Argentex pulled the trigger today on a listing that values it at £120m. Argentex assists businesses and high-net worth individuals with forex transactions related to their business needs, but does not engage in speculative trades for its clients or offer margin trading, spread betting or similar products. It has conditionally raised [...]
Oil prices surge after Iran downs US drone over vital strait June 20, 2019 Oil prices hit a three-week high today after Tehran said it downed a US drone, stoking fears of war in the region. Iran claimed it downed the drone over its southern territory. However, a US official told Reuters it had lost its drone in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz. Read more: Iran downs [...]
DEBATE: Is Facebook’s launch of libra proof that cryptocurrency is going mainstream? June 20, 2019 Is Facebook’s launch of libra proof that cryptocurrency is going mainstream? Eleesa Dadiani, a cryptocurrency economist and broker and founder of Dadiani Fine Art, says YES. For any new financial system, mainstream adoption is contingent on ease of access – and libra is specifically designed with that in mind. There are many reasons why crypto [...]
UK pay rises of 2.5 per cent falls below inflation rate June 20, 2019 UK pay rises stayed flat year on year at 2.5 per cent in the three months to May, according to industry data released today. Employers opted not to increase salary hikes despite rising inflation. Read more: UK unemployment stays at record lows In fact, 87 per cent of the 238 pay rises analysed by Xpert [...]