Last Week in the City: Trade wars begin July 6, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (2 to 6 July 2018). The World Cup is “distracting” for participants in global markets, according to Citigroup. "We find that football is indeed distracting, subtly impacting market depth, traded volumes and execution cost,” the US [...]
Anglo American share price spikes on $7bn Vedanta deal reports July 4, 2018 Shares in FTSE 100-listed miner Anglo American have spiked today after reports linking it to a $7bn (£5.3bn) deal with Vedanta Resources. Indian website Livemint reported today that Vedanta was considering a plan to take control of Anglo's South African business by merging it with Vedanta via a share swap. Vedanta’s chair Anil Agarwal owns [...]
Glencore loses £4bn in market capitalisation following US Department of Justice money laundering probe July 3, 2018 Over £4bn has been wiped off Glencore's market capitalisation following the news it had received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking documents relating to money laundering compliance. The DOJ wants documents and records related to the commodity trading and mining company's business in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela [...]
FTSE closes lower amid investor fears over impending G7 summit in Canada June 8, 2018 The FTSE closed down today with investors in a cautious mood for most of the day ahead of a G7 meeting this weekend. It ended 0.3 per cent lower at 7,681.07 points. Markets fell as Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin should attend the summit in La Malbaie in Quebec, Canada. Russia was expelled from what [...]
Last Week in the City: Stiff competition in funerals? June 1, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (28 May to 1 June 2018). Shares in listed funeral director Dignity slumped after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will examine the pre-paid funeral sector, a move that could see tougher regulation. [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen boss Martin Gilbert takes Glencore leave of absence to concentrate on ‘protracted Sky takeover’ May 16, 2018 City bigwig Martin Gilbert is taking a leave of absence from the board of mining giant Glencore as he concentrates on another one of his heavy-hitting roles – as deputy chair of takeover target Sky. The co-chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen will be replaced as Glencore’s audit and remuneration committee chair by Patrice Merrin. [...]
The Russian rouble (RUB) is falling further as pressures mount over US sanctions and Syria April 11, 2018 The Russian rouble fell for a third day today as the fallout from new US sanctions continued to heap pressure on Russian companies and markets. After dropping around eight per cent since the start of the week, the rouble shed nearly a further three per cent this afternoon, with one dollar buying 65 roubles at [...]
Double t-rouble: Russian currency hammered as markets reel from souring relations with West over Skripal poisoning and Syria chemical attack April 11, 2018 The Russian rouble took another dive yesterday to hit its lowest point in over a year after a fresh round of US sanctions on individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin rattled markets. The rouble fell nearly four per cent against the US dollar, with one dollar buying 63.9 roubles at its peak, following on [...]
Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg resigns from Rusal’s board amid Russia sanctions April 10, 2018 The chief executive of commodities giant Glencore has stepped down from the board of sanctions-hit aluminium producer Rusal. Ivan Glasenberg resigned from his position as a director of the world’s top aluminium producer after its share price halved yesterday due to a fresh round of US sanctions that targeted Russian oligarchs including Oleg Deripaska, who [...]
London’s financial system needs to be better prepared ahead of Brexit March 21, 2018 The UK’s biggest challenge for our negotiations as we leave the European Union is to ensure that our economy is intact and properly prepared for the future. The City of London has an important role to play in helping to create a sustainable economy and the Brexit decision certainly presents some serious challenges. A solution [...]