Are Centrica shares a buy at 20-year low? February 24, 2019 | City Talk At prices not seen since 1999, a 10 per cent dividend yield appears tempting, but it's not that straightforward. Two years ago, Centrica (LSE:CNA) shares were worth over 230p. Today they dived 12 per cent to just 120p. Last time they were that low you could have bought a loaf of bread for 51p* and Shanks & [...]
Why Lloyds Banking Group pleased its City fan club February 22, 2019 | City Talk Our head of markets explains why the City reacted positively to these results despite a profits miss. Despite missing expectations at a pre-tax profit level, Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) is not only in rude health but also has a clear vision on where next to take the business. The bank describes its own model as [...]
China: How George Osborne’s ‘golden era’ lost its shine February 17, 2019 When former chancellor George Osborne visited China in 2015, he pronounced it the start of a “golden era” of Sino-British relations. Britain threw itself into tens-of-billions of pounds worth of trade deals, Osborne turned a blind eye to a litany of Chinese human rights abuses and President Xi Jinping even joined David Cameron for a pint [...]
Japan lifts 23-year ban on British beef after fears of mad cow disease finally put to rest January 9, 2019 Japan has lifted a ban on importing British beef – 23 years on from its introduction after an outbreak of the devastating bovine illness dubbed mad cow disease. The Asian nation banned all imports of UK beef in 1996 after an outbreak of the disease, medically called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Thought to cause the fatal [...]
Sterling dips as Trump and Fallon launch attacks on Theresa May’s Brexit deal November 27, 2018 Sterling suffered another fall today amid increased doubt over whether the Prime Minister’s Brexit bill will pass through parliament. Theresa May announced yesterday that the Commons vote on her deal will take place on Tuesday 11 December. But division among MPs has taken its toll on the markets, which remain wary of a no-deal Brexit. [...]
Hammond’s digital tax is an illogical game of whack-a-mole November 7, 2018 The introduction of a new digital services tax was the most depressingly inevitable part of Philip Hammond’s Budget speech last week. Years of pressure from a pincer movement of corporate tax moralists and traditional retailers have paid off. Starting in April 2020, profitable digital businesses with £500m in global revenues would face a two per cent [...]
Market falls: cause for alarm or calm? October 26, 2018 | City Talk Stock markets globally have been falling since the end of September. Economic worries including a potential trade war between the US and China, currency crises in Turkey and Argentina, debt problems in Italy and rising interest rates have seen stocks globally begin to fall from record highs. As the chart shows, since 31 August emerging [...]
UK and US should have mutual recognition of financial sectors on ‘day one’ of a post-Brexit trade deal, says new report September 18, 2018 The UK and US should seek an immediate system of mutual recognition to deepen trade in financial and professional services, according to a new report produced by policy experts from both sides of the Atlantic. The proposal is one of a range of suggestions put forward by a group of 11 think tanks in a [...]