With the FTSE 100 trading close to 12-month lows, will it fall further by the end of the year? October 13, 2014 Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. The FTSE is currently trading below its long-term average compared to company profits, but that doesn’t mean it won’t go further into deficit. Markets are fickle beasts over the short term, and there’s no telling how long, or deep, the current bout of risk aversion will [...]
Car review: The Lexus NX 300h is an eco-friendly drive that doesn’t skimp on gadgets October 13, 2014 Pulling away in a car on a wave of silence still doesn’t make sense in my brain. I’ve driven plenty of electric and hybrid cars, but every time I gently move off from a standstill on a peacefully eerie surge of current-fed calm, it still gets me. I’m experiencing this soothing yet unsettling [...]
Mountain a new challenge this ski season October 13, 2014 1. Tirol, Austria White 5 pass is valid for 10 days from 1 October 2014 to 15 May 2015, for €358 per person, tirol.com If you just can’t wait to go skiing or you want to beat the peak season rush, Austria is the perfect destination this month. The five Tirol glaciers encompass 229km [...]
Fintech kings talk starting from scratch, old clients and handing businesses a lifeline October 12, 2014 In Holborn last week, a three year-old London-based company held a party to celebrate reaching £250m of business since its inception. If that doesn’t sound impressive, by the time the event was held, MarketInvoice was already nearing £270m. “We seriously underestimated repeat usage,” says co-founder and chief executive Anil Stocker. “Companies see how the platform [...]
Richard Branson: How passion can change your life October 12, 2014 Buzzwords can get tiresome, and “passion” is one that’s thrown around liberally. We’re told it pays to be passionate in our jobs, and that passionate leadership is the best kind. But however fed up most might feel with the word, Richard Branson has always been passionate about passion – arguing it got him to where [...]
Royal Mail share price wavers as £18m deal over French fine is struck October 9, 2014 Royal Mail revealed yesterday that it had set aside £18m to pay an out-of-court settlement with French competition authorities over an alleged breach of antitrust rules in the country. The £18m pot set aside is split into £12m for the fine and £6m to tackle legal costs associated with the case, which is still under [...]
Wall St soars as Fed dampens fears over hike – New York Report October 8, 2014 US STOCKS soared yesterday, with major indexes posting their biggest one-day jumps of 2014 after the Federal Reserve reassured investors that its first interest rate hike would not come until it deemed the economy could withstand it. The Fed’s less aggressive posture lit a fire under US stocks, which had struggled in recent days, and [...]
US lending data disappoints as Fed officials play down rate hike October 7, 2014 US CONSUMER credit failed to meet expectations for August and increased far less than expected, according to experts. Growth for July was also revised lower, the Federal Reserve said yesterday. The news will force economists in America to look on the pace of economic expansion with caution and has led to calls for the Fed [...]
Russia optimists are making an increasingly implausible case October 6, 2014 A potential economic outcast is a bad place to invest money. Russia's economy has taken a battering this year. The conflict in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions tit-for-tat with the West has delivered an enormous blow to confidence, with some of the country’s largest companies now all but locked out of dollar debt refinancing [...]
Why the price of gold is down to a year low? Falling US unemployment boosts investor confidence October 6, 2014 Gold's appeal has been tarnished by stronger-than-expected employment data for the US. The commodity, which is viewed by investors as a safe haven at times of economic instability, fell in value by 0.7 per cent to $1,183 per ounce during Asian trading this morning – its lowest price since June last year. On [...]