Investec has warned exposure to Poundland owner Steinhoff could hit profits December 11, 2017 Investec has warned its exposure to troubled South African retail giant Steinhoff could knock as much as three per cent off its profit. In a statement aimed at quelling fears from investors, the lender said its exposure to scandal-hit Steinhoff, whose shares collapsed last week after its chief executive resigned, represents a “small portion” of [...]
JP Morgan Cazenove widens its lead as top FTSE 100 stockbroker, but Numis retains overall crown December 4, 2017 The brokers at JP Morgan Cazenove will be entering the festive season safe in the knowledge that their firm is still the FTSE 100 favourite, according to data out this morning from Adviser Rankings. JP Morgan widened the lead ahead of its main competitor, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML), which saw its FTSE 100 [...]
Utilities company Pennon throws water on ideas of nationalisation saying leakage levels have halved since privatisation November 29, 2017 Utilities company Pennon, which provides water to 2.3m people in the UK, has today aimed to douse any talk of renationalising water networks as it released half-year results. The business said it was “continuing to invest significantly” in its plants and distribution network, and had improved water quality and halved leakage levels since privatisation. Read [...]
Seneca ditches drinks company Conviviality after making a 65 per cent return November 27, 2017 Seneca Investment Managers has drunk its fill of beverage wholesaler Conviviality, as it announced today it had sold all its shares making a 65 per cent return. Recent re-ratings, which have lifted the company’s share price, have reduced Conviviality’s value in Seneca’s eyes since its investment in January. The fund manager has instead put the [...]
Investec profits up despite political clouds in the UK and South Africa November 16, 2017 Financial services firm Investec reported increased profits today as funds under management rose, in spite of political uncertainty in its two main markets, the UK and South Africa. Statutory operating profits rose by 11.8 per cent year-on-year in the first half of its financial year, although that represented a rise of 1.1 per cent on [...]
Oil and commodities prices: Mining firms drag the FTSE down as commodity prices drop November 15, 2017 Commodity prices tumbled this morning, dragging miners and oil firms down and causing Britain’s blue-chip index to dip. Metals including copper, nickel, zinc and aluminium came under pressure as concerns mounted over weaker economic data in China. Chinese industrial production fell to 6.2 per cent in October, missing estimates of 6.3 per cent growth and [...]
Australia poised to sign fintech deal with the UK Treasury November 9, 2017 Australia is poised to sign a fintech deal with the UK to boost crosstalk in one of Britain’s fastest-growing industries, City A.M. can reveal. The Treasury is working on an agreement to aid co-operation on fintech between the regulatory authorities in the UK and Australia. Read more: Investec and Banco Sabadell are backing hot UK [...]
Imperial Brands is expected to reassure the market with new next generation products November 5, 2017 Imperial Brands, the maker of Winston, Kool and Gauloises cigarettes, is expected to post a rise in full-year profit as it gears up to launch new next generation products, potentially including heat-not-burn products, next year. Imperial initially resisted the move into heated tobacco products, but in its half-year results, it was forced to assure analysts [...]
Bitcoin price hits another record all-time high breaking $6,500 November 1, 2017 Bitcoin’s upward streak continues: the cryptocurrency’s price has once again set a record. After breaking the $6,400 mark overnight it’s continued to climb and cracked $6,500, this morning reaching $6,522 at pixel time. News of plans for bitcoin futures had already pusheed it to new highs yesterday. US-based exchange operator CME Group said it hopes [...]
Fintech startup MarketInvoice is getting into small business lending and taking on big banks November 1, 2017 One of the UK’s most well-known startups is taking on the big banks with a move into lending for small business, a market worth £35bn a year. MarketInvoice is expanding from peer-to-peer invoice financing into short-term loans of between £10k and £100k. Read more: Investec and Banco Sabadell are backing hot UK fintech startup Bud [...]