Investment platform AJ Bell boosts customers ahead of float October 19, 2018 Investment platform and stockbroker AJ Bell said today it had increased customer numbers by 20 per cent in the last financial year ahead of a planned main market listing. In the year to 30 September customer numbers increased 20 per cent to 197,912 and assets under administration grew 16 per cent to £46.1bn. Read more: [...]
HSBC confirms it is exploring a Chinese listing via new London-Shanghai link October 18, 2018 HSBC confirmed today it is exploring a plan to sell its shares in China via a new London-Shanghai trading link. A spokesperson for the bank said: “We are studying the proposed framework for the listing of Chinese depositary receipts under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect but cannot comment further at this time.” Read more: HSBC, Credit [...]
Economist Hernando de Soto: ‘Our systems of representation are broken’ October 17, 2018 Hernando de Soto has dedicated much of his life to trying to help the world's poorest countries develop to the level of advanced economies, but now he is wondering if Western nations need to re-examine how we think about government. De Soto is one of the world’s most prominent development economists, thanks to the central [...]
Toy maker Hamleys blames Brexit, terrorism and rising retail costs for £9m loss October 12, 2018 The UK's oldest toy store Hamleys revealed a record loss today with profits dropping a staggering 500 per cent over the past 12 months. The iconic toy-maker blamed Brexit, macroeconomic factors and the threat of terrorism for the downturn in its fortunes. The retailer announced a £9.2m loss for the year to 31 December 2017, having made a £1.7m profit [...]
Tencent delays its $2bn US stock listing due to soured market October 12, 2018 Tencent Music Entertainment has delayed its listing on the New York Stock Exchange until November at the earliest, as sources told Reuters it would rather wait until global markets have stabilised. The initial public offering (IPO) had been planned for as early as next week, which was set to raise at least $2bn (£1.5bn). "Given the [...]
BMW prepares to plough billions into Chinese joint venture October 11, 2018 BMW is prepared to spend big in order to take control of Brilliance Automotive (BBA), its joint venture in China, it emerged today. The German manufacturer is set to part with €3.6bn (£3.14bn) to up its stake in the company from 50 per cent to 75 per cent, and will also invest more than €3bn to [...]
Shares in Burberry fall as Chinese appetite for luxury goods slows October 10, 2018 Shares in Burberry dropped over eight per cent Wednesday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the luxury goods sector over worries of a slowdown in the Chinese market. Chinese consumer confidence has peaked, the bank said, and consumption trends will likely slow further in the second half of the year before a slight upswing in 2019. Read [...]
Brand Boris: Johnson needs to shed his disrupter image if he wants to become a leader October 8, 2018 There was a particularly pithy Tweet doing the rounds just after the Conservative party conference last week: “in summary: Boris’s speech not good enough for him to take over; May’s not bad enough to be kicked out”. So, was Boris Johnson really just one speech away from leadership? Possibly. Because Boris, just like Donald Trump, “has [...]
Five charts that explain the case for emerging markets October 8, 2018 Investors generally understand the importance of emerging markets in terms of their economic impact but, perhaps due to lack of knowledge, often struggle to know how best to reflect this in their portfolios. Those investors have ignored what are some of the world's best-performing financial markets since the turn of the millennium. What is more, [...]
Slippery slope for ski property as prices take a tumble despite record snowfall October 4, 2018 As Europe’s leading ski centres crank up their lifts ahead of the early-season starting later this month, new figures suggest some resorts on the Swiss alpine slopes are undergoing a property slump. Despite record levels of snowfall and growing investment in infrastructure, house prices across the Alps dipped 0.5 per cent over the last year, [...]