Deferred pay-offs: Executive pay should be linked to long-run performance December 1, 2015 With activists anxious for the UN’s climate change conference in Paris to reach an agreement limiting the average global temperature increase to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, many commentators warn against the catastrophe which awaits us, and the benefits which might come from deferred gratification. Long espoused by successful business leaders, like Amazon’s Jeff [...]
Wall St dips with health and retail falls – New York Report November 30, 2015 Declines in health and consumer shares yesterday weighed on the market as investors braced for policy news from central banks. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 78.57 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 17,719.92, the S&P 500 lost 9.65 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 2,080.46 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 18.86 points, or 0.37 [...]
George Osborne’s Big Red Book is securing UK prosperity while Maoism gathers dust November 30, 2015 George Osborne set out last week how this government is fulfilling its manifesto promises: delivering financial security on the back of economic growth, and national security in an uncertain world. Coupled with plans to make markets work better for families and firms – like increasing competition so bills come down – he spoke to the [...]
Deficit bias: The chancellor’s fiscal strategy has worrying shades of Gordon Brown November 30, 2015 At the Autumn Statement 2011, the chancellor bore bad news. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had revised down the growth prospects of the UK economy, and revised up how much of the public deficit would not naturally fall as the economy recovered. George Osborne therefore faced a choice: to cut spending or raise [...]
Stamp duty was already a bad tax – the buy-to-let surcharge makes it even more stupid November 30, 2015 Petty, shallow and stupid. That pretty much sums up the government’s new 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge on additional properties, announced by the chancellor in the Autumn Statement last week. Beyond the naked appeal to the public’s envy of second home owners and buy-to-let landlords, there is almost nothing to recommend this measure on [...]
COP21: For all the hype around the climate change summit in Paris, will it actually prove to be a turning point? November 30, 2015 Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the LSE’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, says Yes The Paris summit has already proved to be a turning point because more than 180 countries have submitted national pledges to limit or reduce their annual emissions of greenhouse gases over the next 15 years. [...]
Euro-dollar trader? Look elsewhere this week November 30, 2015 With the euro tumbling nearly 950 points since mid-October, how much further can euro-dollar drop? Some say to $1.0450, others parity. We don’t disagree with either of these outlooks and the FXCM SSI index shows that retail traders are still net long the euro-dollar. As it’s a contrarian indicator, it suggests we should remain net [...]
China dominates sentiment in listless market – eToro Tips & Picks November 30, 2015 If there are no unexpected developments in the Middle East or any other major news events, the next few days are likely to be reasonably quiet for the US and European markets. Investors seem to be watching and waiting ahead of Friday’s US non-farm payrolls report and Janet Yellen’s speech. Even if the markets [...]
City Moves for 30 November 2015 | Who’s switching jobs November 29, 2015 LEGAL & GENERAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT REAL ASSETS The investment manager has announced three appointments to its research team. Declan O’Brien (pictured) joins as infrastructure strategist from Moody’s Investors Service, where he was an assistant vice president within project and infrastructure finance. Enrico Faccioli joins as research analyst. He is a recent graduate of Warwick Business [...]
Best of the Brokers for 30 November 2015 November 29, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com Analysts at Liberum have boosted payment systems company PayPoint to a “buy” rating after the company posted interim results in line with expectations. The firm’s been given a target share price of 1,000p, up from 935p currently. PayPoint shares reacted badly on Friday, [...]
