How to reshape the financial system? First ditch the idea of the free market February 4, 2019 Nick Silver, Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow, Cass Business School, writes for The Conversation. First published by Amy Ripley (Senior Communications Officer) Ten years ago the financial system collapsed and governments around the world intervened to save it. Much of the subsequent legislation, regulation and angst has attempted to make the system less risky so it [...]
Government faces test as Chinese buyers line up for major UK energy grid February 3, 2019 The government's approach to foreign investment could be tested this month as Chinese buyers line up for a major UK energy network. State-owned operators State Grid Corporation of China and China Southern Power Grid are looking at Electricity North West, which is expected to fetch £2bn at auction, the Sunday Times reported. It has also [...]
Banking on diversification February 1, 2019 With a number of headwinds facing markets in 2019, it can be hard to see the wood for the trees. Alex Crooke, Fund Manager of The Bankers Investment Trust, explains how his team approaches the complexities of global stock markets. As we start 2019 there are plenty of reasons for investors to be cautious, as [...]
Alibaba revenue growth slows to weakest pace in three years January 30, 2019 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's revenue grew at its slowest pace in three years last quarter, as the ongoing US-China trade spat and a general slowdown in the region weighed heavily on its busiest period. Asia's second most valuable public company published revenue of 117.28bn yuan (£13.4bn) for the three months to 31 December, compared to 83bn yuan a [...]
JP Morgan Asset Management given green light to sell funds in China January 29, 2019 JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has had two funds approved for sale in China. The funds – the Asia Equity Dividend Fund and the Global Bond Fund – will be distributed through JPMAM’s joint venture partner China International Fund Management after the China Securities Regulatory Committee gave the US company the green light. The funds [...]
US-China trade war greater threat to M&A deals than Brexit, survey finds January 29, 2019 The trade war between the US and China is a greater risk to merger and acquisition (M&A) activity this year than Brexit, according to research published today. A total of 50 per cent of senior global M&A professionals viewed the trade tensions, rising tariffs and potential subsequent erosion of global GDP as the biggest emerging business [...]
Gold rises to eight-month high as Huawei tensions weigh on dollar January 29, 2019 Gold prices reached their highest point in over eight months today after the dollar fell on worries over US-China relations. The metal rose to $1,309 per ounce in the early afternoon, a 0.69 per cent rise. Read more: Row over Bank of England's Venezuelan gold heats up as senior Tory MP writes to Carney The boost [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown assets falls six per cent on market volatility and weak investor confidence January 29, 2019 Hargreaves Lansdown suffered a 24 per cent drop in new business in the second half of last year, blaming market volatility and weak investor confidence for the downturn. The investment platform said net new business in the six months ending 31 December fell 24 per cent on the previous year to £2.53bn, sending shares down [...]
Will 2019 be the year gold regains its shine? January 28, 2019 Gold had a mixed year in 2018, quickly peaking around $1,366 in January, but falling as low as $1,160 by August. For a while it seemed that the correlation between risk-off appetite and gold prices had broken, with the yellow metal overlooked even in times of heightened uncertainty. But after a 7% recovery since early [...]
FTSE 100 slides as US market slump sparks downward spiral January 28, 2019 The FTSE 100 followed US stocks on a downward spiral this afternoon closing 0.9 per cent down for the day. US construction giant Caterpillar set the tone with disappointing fourth quarter results as a slowdown in China and trade tensions were cited as reasons for the miss. The Dow Jones lost more than 300 points in [...]