Alibaba founder Jack Ma hits out at Bitcoin amid launch of Ant Financial blockchain plan June 26, 2018 Billionaire business magnate Jack Ma has warned against speculating on the Bitcoin market after saying that the virtual currency could be a potential bubble. Ma, who is the founder of technology conglomerate Alibaba, made the remark yesterday as he launched his own “electronic wallet” which would make allow blockchain-based money transfers between Hong Kong and [...]
Last Week in the City: Markets Trumped by trade fears June 22, 2018 The week was dominated by trade war fears as Donald Trump said he would slap further tariffs on Chinese goods should there be any retaliatory measures. Despite this, Nasdaq hit a record high, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased all its gains in 2018 so far. The FTSE 100 fell 0.5% over the week [...]
Daimler’s profit warning has sent the share prices of European car manufacturers tumbling June 21, 2018 Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz, has warned that profits will be lower this year as a result of US-China trade tensions, which has seen share prices in other European carmakers fall in tandem. Daimler has said it is considering “possible strategic options” while cutting its profit forecast, following a warning from China that it will [...]
Why Opec matters June 20, 2018 Whether we like it or not oil prices matter, as they affect everything connected with a modern economy, from movement of goods and services, to the amount of disposable incomes for ordinary consumers. That is why this week’s Opec meeting is important in the context of future direction for oil prices, which have risen over [...]
Berkeley Group hit by cautious outlook June 20, 2018 Berkeley Group announced a solid set of full-year figures Revenue dipped by 0.7% to £2.703 billion and the consensus estimate was £2.729 billion. Pre-tax profits jumped by 15.1% to £934.9 million, while equity analysts were expecting £905.08 million. The company has comfortable net cash position which has increased by 140% to £687.3 million. Berkeley’s capital [...]
Trade war fears spook markets after Trump threatens China with tariffs June 19, 2018 Markets in the US tumbled on Tuesday night after US President Donald Trump’s shock threat to impose a 10 per cent tariff on $200bn (£152bn) of Chinese goods late on Monday. China described the US threats as “extreme pressure and blackmailing” and vowed swift retaliation. The threat of new tariffs and fears of further trade [...]
European equities: Profit growth continues to drive the rally June 19, 2018 In his European equity funds Berenberg European Focus Fund and Berenberg Eurozone Focus Fund, which were launched in early October 2017, fund manager Matthias Born focuses on enterprises with stable profit growth. And so naturally he is delighted that corporate profits in Europe rose strongly again in 2017, for the first time in a long [...]
Can slowing money growth stall markets? June 19, 2018 It’s fashionable for central banks to be more cautious in the West. TheFederal Reserve is busy putting up interest rates. Many forecast a move up from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent this year and a further move to 3.25 per cent next year. Meanwhile, the US central bank is also reducing its own [...]
Asian investors pour record amounts of cash into City skyscrapers June 18, 2018 Asian investors poured record amounts of money into London skyscrapers in the first six months of this year, with a whopping 68 per cent of City office purchases coming from Asia. According to research from real estate firm Savills, which looks at offices in the City over 20 floors, Asian buyers invested £3.1bn in the [...]
Looming trade war pushes stocks down and sends oil prices tumbling June 18, 2018 European stocks tumbled today and US oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing responded with similar measures, escalating fears of a trade war. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell to their lowest level since April, dropping to to $63.59 per barrel before rallying slightly to [...]