Chinese mega cities increase dominance in Schroders Global Cities 30 index December 15, 2016 Fund manager Hugo Machin explains the trends behind the latest moves in the Schroders Global Cities index Chinese cities had a strong showing in the first Schroders Global Cities 30 index, launched in the summer. In the first update to the index, that dominance has only increased. Four of the top five spots are now [...]
BI announces its best performing champagne for 2016 December 14, 2016 One of the world's leading fine wine merchants and traders has announced its top performing champagne of 2016. BI, formerly Bordeaux Index, said this year's best champagne on its LiveTrade platform was the 2007 Louis Roederer Cristal, with sales up 53 per cent since it was added to the live, two-way buying and selling platform [...]
Football’s new arms race: leading clubs looking to sell shirt sleeve sponsorship for £10m a year ahead of Premier League rule change December 14, 2016 They routinely adorn the biceps of Lionel Messi and Neymar and flutter on the jerseys of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, yet until now they have been forbidden in the Premier League. Sponsors’ logos on football clubs’ shirt sleeves are on their way to England’s top division from next season, however, as teams look to [...]
The $1bn sector: Audioboom is convinced splashing the cash in the US will be worth it December 14, 2016 Audioboom’s revenues jumped but losses were more than expected during the 12 months its boss said "would be the year that we proved our business model". The podcast firm revealed bumper fourth quarter revenues today, but negative earnings swelled as a result of increased costs from a strategic push to move operations to the US. [...]
Government publishes steel requirements between now and 2020 in a bid to boost domestic industry December 13, 2016 The government has published details of its plan to use 3m tonnes of steel in infrastructure projects by 2020 in a bid to give beleaguered domestic steelmakers a better chance of winning government contracts. The amount of steel required across 18 central government infrastructure projects, including HS2, the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant and upgrading [...]
As Trump enters the White House, will the Federal Reserve hike interest rates more aggressively in 2017? December 13, 2016 It was Ronald Reagan who warned against inflation in 1984 by describing it creeping “like a thief in the night to rob our savings, rob our earnings, and take the bread off our tables.” It is ironic then that President-elect Donald Trump, who borrowed his forebear’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” to win the [...]
Santa’s naughty list could well be shorter this year as coal demand waning and growth set to stall for next five years December 12, 2016 Waning appetite from key consuming nations and swift growth in other sources of energy will stall global demand for coal over the next five years, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). (Though maybe it's just that so few children were naughty this year that coal's no longer needed…) Coal demand fell last year for [...]
Donald Trump is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in powder keg Asia December 12, 2016 Donald Trump is off to a surprisingly good start. While his enemies in the Democratic party and the American press (which is largely the same thing) froth at the mouth, enraged that their world view has been found wanting, the President-elect has assembled a thoroughly solid cabinet up to now. While there are some (to coin [...]
National Grid is planning a special dividend after the £14bn sale of its gas network December 8, 2016 Subsidiaries of China and Qatar's sovereign wealth funds are among the investors who have bought a 61 per cent stake in National Grid’s gas pipelines for £13.8bn, which will see £4bn returned to shareholders. National Grid said it had sold a 61 per cent equity interest in its NG Gas Distribution to a consortium of investors called the Quad [...]
Why do some nations hold more gold? December 7, 2016 As an asset, gold is entirely speculative. It provides no income or dividends, and has few industrial or medical applications. Investors buy it only in the confidence that humans’ peculiar and enduring fascination with the lustrous metal will ensure its value through the decades and centuries to come. Unlike other securities, its price is not dictated [...]