Central bank cryptocurrencies a danger to global financial stability says Bank for International Settlements March 12, 2018 Central bank cryptocurrencies could cause deposits to flow out of traditional banks and endanger the stability of the financial system at the next crash, according to an influential central bank body. The Bank for International Settlements today warned moving into issuing digital currencies would move central banks like the Federal Reserve and the Bank of [...]
How reinvesting FTSE 100 dividends has affected Isa returns since 1999 March 12, 2018 Reinvesting dividends is one of the most powerful tools available to boost returns over time. Investors in the FTSE 100 would certainly have noticed the difference over the last 18 years. For instance, if you had invested £1,000 on 31 December 1999 in the FTSE 100, the capital growth would have produced a notional return [...]
Why economic growth (and rates) could increase faster than expected March 8, 2018 Donald Trump’s plan to boost the US government’s spending by $300 billion has added fuel to a US and global economy already firing on all cylinders. The effect of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 which detailed these plans (which also include a further $90 billion in disaster relief spending) will be felt far beyond [...]
What ‘dividend cover’ says about the safety of stock market income March 8, 2018 The income paid by stock market companies to investors could be about to come under pressure. The twice yearly payments made to investors can be a vital income supplement for those in retirement. Others reinvest the dividends to boost long-term returns. But research compiled by Schroders shows European and US companies are diverting a [...]
Cash vs stock market: the difference in returns since Isas began March 7, 2018 Saving money into a cash Isa over the last 18 years would have returned four times less than a stocks and shares Isa, according to research by Schroders. Since 2009, the average savings account could even have lost you money. But while stocks and shares returns may have been higher, they have also been more [...]
Focus On Victoria: A £4bn investment has completely changed the area from dowdy offices to shiny penthouses and hip restaurants March 5, 2018 If the Queen’s getting a £369m refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, it seems only fair that the neighbourhood surrounding it should get a polish, too. £4bn should just about cover it, and that’s how much has been invested in the area by developer Land Securities over the last five years. Around £700m of that has gone [...]
The folly of long-term forecasts March 2, 2018 In late January, Brexit minister Steve Baker suggested the Treasury had put together 15-year economic projections designed to show “all options other than staying in the customs union were bad.” Though he later walked the statement back, to some, it supported suspicions of government agencies’ complicity in “Project Fear”—an effort to scare Brits out of [...]
Bank of England chief Mark Carney says cryptocurrencies are failing as money March 2, 2018 Bank of England governor Mark Carney said cryptocurrencies are failing as a system of money. In a speech to the inaugural Scottish Economics Conference, Carney posed the question: “How well do cryptocurrencies fulfil the roles of money?” In response, the Bank chief said: “The long, charitable answer is that cryptocurrencies act as money, at best, [...]
Shareholders worth £47bn set to force Rio Tinto to review its relationship with industry bodies blocking climate change progress March 2, 2018 Investors with a combined £47bn under management have today filed a shareholder resolution against Rio Tinto, calling on the FTSE 100 miner to review its relationships with industry bodies blocking progress on climate change. The UK’s Church of England Pensions Board, along with the Australian Local Government Super fund and the Seventh Swedish National Pension [...]
Guy Hands’ Terra Firma is set to battle with buyout behemoths for Network Rail railway arches properties March 1, 2018 Guy Hands, one of the UK’s most well-known buyout firm bosses, is set to make a £1bn swoop for Network Rail’s commercial property portfolio. Hands’s private equity firm, Terra Firma, will be battling against giants such as Blackstone, the billionaire Pears family’s Telereal Trillium and funds associated with Goldman Sachs, Sky News has reported, as [...]