Holiday Homes: The modern glass houses surrounding the golf resorts of Quinta do Lago in Portugal are worth millions July 21, 2016 Overlooking the Golfe green at the five star Portuguese resort of Quinta do Lago are four houses – all, at first glance, the epitome of the “escape to the sun” idyll. Three of them, recently built by the same developer, are large, ultra-modern glass homes that wouldn’t look out of place on BBC’s Grand Designs, [...]
Commuter chaos: Sinkhole disrupts rush hour timetable from London Bridge July 18, 2016 If you travel home via London Bridge, you might want to look away now – or, at the very least, don't look down. Network Rail has discovered a sinkhole underneath the tracks at Forest Hill and it's causing major delays between London Bridge and East Croydon. ⚠ Service to/from London Bridge are being altered or diverted [...]
Despite the comfort from greater political stability, could sterling still reach parity against the US dollar? July 18, 2016 Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, says Yes. Sterling received a pummelling in June, with prices crashing to 31-year lows against the dollar following the shock Brexit victory. Financial markets were rattled, and it was obvious that the Brexit outcome was severely underpriced, with even the bookkeepers being completely on the wrong side of the [...]
Wells Fargo profits drop but US banking giant meets expectations July 15, 2016 US banking giant Wells Fargo has reported a slight drop in profit for the second quarter of 2016 compared with the year before – but still met analsyts' expectations. The figures Net income was down to $5.6bn (£4.2bn) in the second quarter, from $5.7bn in the same period of last year. Earnings per share (EPS) was $1.01, [...]
It’s a myth that VCs and crowdfunding platforms are at war. If you’re raising money, your focus should be on the following July 14, 2016 As equity crowdfunding evolves, the view is that there’s a war underway between venture capitalists and platforms targeting retail investors – as both vye for the best deals. But in reality, the scene remains peaceful. As a VC firm, we view crowdfunding as a complementary finance channel that can find additional and strategic capital for appropriate [...]
Telematics will make you safer and save you money – by disrupting the disrupters July 14, 2016 Telematics – the technology for collecting and analysing driver behaviour – has been transforming the face of car insurance for a long time. Now it is set to play a key role in how people engage with market disrupters such as Uber and Zipcar. These new entrants give people a great deal of flexibility in how [...]
Brexit and anti-establishment politics: The Out vote was the first great thwack against the status quo July 13, 2016 A groundswell of disenchantment with ruling elites across Europe is threatening to destabilise the region. There were 35 separate calls for referendums from alternative parties in the EU in the 24 hours after the UK’s Leave vote was announced, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations, although not all were explicitly about exiting the [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 13, 2016 US stock markets are at a record high, Opec production is at its highest level in eight years, and China's trade surplus narrowed. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing up ahead of the open, though are not looking quite as rosy as in recent sessions. The S&P [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 12, 2016 Major US markets are on a tear hitting record highs and the UK blue-chip index is in bull market territory. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. It seems nothing can stop the equity ball rolling now, with futures pointing yet higher ahead of the open. The [...]
Why it could be a happy summer for stock market investors July 12, 2016 Are risk assets shaping up for a summer rally? That’s the question investors are asking themselves after Friday’s non-farm payrolls report. It’s raising hopes that the US economy is on a more stable footing than thought. It’s good news for risk sentiment – provided the Federal Reserve holds the line in commentary this week with [...]