Borderless banking: Meet the mobile-only bank for migrants July 30, 2018 When Norris Koppel came to the UK 18 years ago, he landed a good job and found a flat to rent. But there was a problem: the banks refused to let him open a current account. Koppel had no credit history in the UK, which meant – as far as the banks were concerned [...]
Why is this such a worried bull market? July 18, 2018 Normally bull markets are full of people who are optimistic. They radiate enthusiasm for economies and shares. They hunt down markets or individual stocks that look cheap compared to the rest and recommend them. They recommend simply buying the global or local market to join in a general uplift in shares they expect. Eventually you [...]
Thalassotherapy in Sardinia, where long-livers swear by the relaxing and healing properties of seawater | City A.M. July 17, 2018 They say the most stressful moments in a person’s life are divorce, bereavement and moving house. Thus far, I’ve managed to avoid the first two, but I went through the mortgage process for the first time this summer. Needless to say, ‘they’ were right and no ordinary beach break was going to revive the anxious, [...]
Sorry ICO, fining Facebook will do nothing to fight fake news or stop data scandals | City A.M. July 13, 2018 Let’s be honest, Facebook has got away with it. Since 2014, it has had its hands in the cookie jar, taking our personal data and passing it on to companies like Cambridge Analytica, which could then do whatever they wanted with it. There were no checks, no balances, and no regulation to Facebook’s corporate actions. [...]
Ocado delivers mixed results July 10, 2018 Ocado revealed a mixed set of first-half results. Revenue rose by 12.1 per cent to £799 million, while EBITDA slipped by 13.9 per cent to £38.9 million. When you factor in depreciation, amortisation, impairments and net finance costs the company swung to a loss of £9 million. The CFO expects the full-year pre-tax loss to [...]
Entrepreneurs who make lots of money aren’t all brilliant intellectuals like scholars and scientists July 10, 2018 "I could see from first glance that he was a half-wit, but then half-wits sometimes have the genius to amass a fortune.” The quote is from Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. Don’t you just love it? Astute as it is, Miller’s observation is nevertheless remarkably at odds with the current consensus, which seems to be: [...]
US job growth beats expectations as US dollar dips July 6, 2018 The US created 213,000 jobs last month with official figures proving far stronger than expected, although unemployment also climbed 0.2 per cent. The closely-watched non-farm payroll report exceeded forecasts of 195,000 new jobs in June, with job growth in healthcare and manufacturing industries trumping employment loses in retail trade. However, the US dollar fell as [...]
Revealed: June’s top and bottom performing funds July 2, 2018 June was dominated by trade war fears as Donald Trump said he would add further tariffs on Chinese and European goods should there be any retaliation to his initial tranche of measures. The prospect of mercantilist trade policies unnerved investors concerned about future growth. There are few, if any, real winners in a full-blown trade [...]
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 [...]
Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 0.25 per cent and signals more hikes to come in 2018 June 13, 2018 The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate today as it continues its efforts to normalise monetary policy with officials’ projections pointing to four hikes in total during 2018. The US central bank moved the target range for its federal funds rate to 1.75 per cent to two per cent. Markets had priced in a [...]