Why Brits are backing cash and shunning the stock market December 5, 2024 Brits are sitting on a record amount of cash and shunning the stock market – Elliot Gulliver-Needham looks at why the UK has become a nation of savers. UK cash savings have surged to a record £2.1 trillion this month, up more than £51bn since the start of 2024, according to new data from Janus [...]
Investors pile into UK equities after pre-Budget selling December 4, 2024 UK equity funds ended a 41-month streak of outflows last month as investors piled back into the market following Rachel Reeves’s tax-raiding Budget. After suffering their worst month on record before in the run up to the October fiscal plans, fund flows reversed sharply as investors poured money back into the market, with buying for [...]
How Games Workshop worked its magic to join the giants of the FTSE 100 December 4, 2024 Games Workshop is officially set to battle its way into the FTSE 100 later this month for the first time in its history, cementing its place as a titan of the City. The Warhammer maker is now the 85th biggest listed company in the UK, guaranteeing its spot in London’s main index and eclipsing household [...]
How Abrdn became the most shorted company in the UK December 3, 2024 Abrdn is now the most shorted company in the UK, as the Edinburgh-based asset manager has struggled to convince the market it has staying power in the industry. The FTSE 250 fundhouse has been a perennial member of the most shorted stocks for a while, but has succeeded in taking the top spot thanks to [...]
Foreign firms launch £7.8bn summer deals raid on British companies December 3, 2024 A raid by international firms on UK companies accelerated over the summer as foreign buyers kicked off deals worth some £7.8bn – even as domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) slumped. Foreign spending on UK companies rose by 16 per cent between July and September, thanks in part to the $976m (£769m) swoop by US-based Quanex [...]
Four ‘outrageous’ market predictions for 2025 December 3, 2024 Saxo Bank has published the latest in an annual series of “outrageous predictions” for 2025, from Nvidia trouncing its Mag Seven peers to the US dollar blowing up. The Danish bank’s predictions for the year, which do not represent its official views, are “meant to spark discussions and challenge consensus” about a changing world. Here [...]
US funds soar in November while gold prices sink December 2, 2024 US-focused funds topped the charts in November following Donald Trump’s presidential victory, while gold and precious metal funds struggled to maintain their previously strong performance. The average North America-focused fund grew by 7.2 per cent throughout the month, with North American Smaller Companies growing by a whopping 11.9 per cent. This led the best performing [...]
St James’s Place readies redundancies in cost-cutting push December 2, 2024 St James’s Place is set to make around 500 redundancies next year as part of its sweeping cost-cutting plan, according to reports. Around a sixth of the wealth manager’s non-financial adviser workforce are set to be laid off in February, an internal memo, seen by Citywire, revealed. Over the summer, St James’s Place revealed it [...]
Sovereign Capital plans professional services mega-merger December 1, 2024 Sovereign Capital is set to merge seven of its regional professional services firm into one, according to reports. The private equity firm is planning to combine the regional accountants under the name Affinia, The Sunday Times revealed. Affinia is expected to make around £35m a year in sales cumulatively, and is aiming to double its [...]
30th anniversary of VCTs celebrated as 2024 raise approaches £240m December 1, 2024 The total amount of money raised through venture capital trusts (VCTs) this tax year is approaching £240m, 20 per cent higher than last year, as the investment industry celebrates the vehicle’s 30th birthday. The VCT was unveiled in the 1994 Budget, where Chancellor Ken Clarke launched the scheme, and have since raised £12.5bn, funnelling money [...]
