Ocean economy offers UK a trillion pound opportunity in undiscovered gold and precious metals June 29, 2018 As much as 95 per cent of the world’s oceans and 99 per cent of the ocean floor remain unexplored. We have yet to identify around two-thirds of all marine life. We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about our ocean floor. While we look to the stars and imagine what [...]
Is the high street really doomed? June 26, 2018 UK high street retailers have endured a torrid time over the last few years. A slew of store closures, job losses and administrations don’t make for pretty headlines, and illustrate just how difficult it is for those looking to invest in the retail sector. Discount retailer Poundworld followed electronics firm Maplin and toy retailer Toys [...]
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 [...]
Brexit vote two years on: seven charts that tell the story June 22, 2018 On 23 June 2016, the UK public voted on whether or not to stay in the European Union (EU). Many expected the UK to remain in the EU, but by a majority of 52% to 48% the Leave campaign won. The UK is scheduled to leave the EU at 23:00 UK time on 29 March [...]
Trinity Mirror merger with Daily Express owner Northern & Shell cleared by culture secretary Matt Hancock June 20, 2018 Trinity Mirror’s acquisition of Daily Express and Daily Star owner Northern & Shell Media Group has been cleared by culture secretary Matt Hancock. A £127m deal for Reach Plc, the new name for the Trinity Mirror, to buy the Express owner was reached in February 2018, but has been subject to two regulatory probes since [...]
Ethical Concerns and Your Career June 20, 2018 Has an employer’s business practices ever created ethical concerns for you? Has it affected your career? It turns out the commitment to uphold the highest ethical standards within the investment management industry does not come without risks. In a poll, we asked readers if doubts about whether their employer’s business practices were ethical have influenced [...]
Brussels clears Comcast bid for Sky June 15, 2018 The European Commission has approved Comcast’s bid for Sky, turning up the heat in the battle with 21st Century Fox for the broadcaster. Brussels authorities said that the proposed merger raised no competition concerns in Europe. “The commission found that the proposed transaction would lead to only a limited increase in Sky’s existing share of [...]
Competition watchdog flags concerns over media intelligence merger between Nielsen and Ebiquity June 13, 2018 The proposed merger of marketing consultancies Ebiquity and Nielsen has sparked concerns from the competition watchdog. Nielsen and Ebiquity monitor the advertising habits of companies and are the only suppliers of this intelligence across the UK media. Ebiquity announced in February that it wanted to sell its advertising division to Nielsen. The Competition and Markets [...]
Don’t get caught up in your mortgage lender’s game of Space Invaders June 13, 2018 You might be familiar with Space Invaders – the computer game where you have to shoot aliens. According to UK Finance, that retro 70s game resembles the challenge that lenders face in the interest-only mortgage market. That is, once lenders have recouped cash from the easy targets (or borrowers), they then have to take [...]
WeBuyAnyCar owner BCA Marketplace rejects £1.6bn takeover offer from private equity firm Apax Partners June 11, 2018 BCA Marketplace, the owner of WeBuyAnyCar, announced today that the board had decided to reject the takeover offer from the private equity firm Apax Partners. On 9 May, the company received a bid from Apax for a cash takeover of £1.6bn, in a 200p per share offer. Since rejecting the offer, no new proposal has [...]