Octopus to take over Engie’s 70,000 UK households January 20, 2020 Challenger energy supplier Octopus has agreed to take over Engie’s UK household energy business, after the French firm decided to leave the domestic market. The deal, which will see Octopus supply Engie’s 70,000 UK customers, is the quickly-growing business’ sixth acquisition in two years. Octopus, which currently has 1.4m customers – or five per cent [...]
Anglo American makes £405m bid for Sirius Minerals January 20, 2020 Anglo American have agreed a £405m rescue deal with the board of embattled Sirius Minerals, it was announced this morning. Under the agreement, Sirius shareholders will receive 5.50p for each share, a 34 per cent premium on the British mining firm’s 4.10p closing price on 7 January. The deal is a lifeline for Sirius, which [...]
Markets set for further highs as sentiment remains strong January 20, 2020 Global markets started the week pushing all-time highs as the ramifications of the US-China trade deal continue to be felt. After last week saw the S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq and the Euro Stoxx 600 all hit new records, the Nikkei nudged up 0.2 per cent this morning to sit roughly seven per cent below all [...]
Five of the best fee-free football transfers January 20, 2020 | City Talk Football clubs across the Premier League, Europe and further afield are always eyeing up their next potential stars. To kick off the winter transfer season, here’s our selection of the top fee-free football transfers. After all, the best things in life are free, as the saying goes. Remember, you can enjoy fee-free international payments whether [...]
What happened to the pound, euro and US dollar in 2019? January 20, 2020 | City Talk It has been a year of ups and downs for sterling, largely dominated by political and geopolitical factors. Investors’ concern over the outcome of Brexit largely overshadowed other factors. Despite celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019, it wasn’t a banner year for the euro. Over the last 20 years, the euro has strengthened by 27 [...]
What does 2020 hold in store for the pound? January 20, 2020 | City Talk Brexit cast a long shadow over the pound in 2019. Additional factors that influenced the value of sterling – caution from the Bank of England, faltering economic results – were all seen through the lens of Brexit. Now that parliament has backed the Brexit bill, the focus may move slightly from the challenges of uncertainty [...]
Oil prices steady as China-US trade deal optimism offset by slow Chinese economic growth January 18, 2020 Oil prices steadied on Friday as sluggish economic growth in China offset optimism of a trade deal between the US and China. Brent crude oil rose 23 cents to finish Friday’s session on $64.85 a barrel, which was 0.2 per cent down for the week. It comes after China revealed on Friday that its economy, [...]
First Travelex UK customer-facing systems restored after cyber attack January 17, 2020 The chief executive of Travelex has spoken out for the first time following a cyber attack two weeks ago that caused a global blackout in the foreign exchange provider’s online services. In a scripted video uploaded to a backup Travelex website, Tony D’Souza said the IT system used by staff was now working again. D’Souza [...]
NMC Health hires former FBI director to probe short attack allegations January 17, 2020 NMC Health has appointed former FBI director Louis Freeh to look into allegations of financial wrongdoing by the company made by US short-seller Muddy Waters. The hospital operator’s shares have plummeted 44 per cent since Muddy Waters published a report raising “serious doubts” about the company’s finances and asset valuations on 17 December. NMC Health [...]
Revealed: This was the best performing UK stock of the last decade January 17, 2020 Ashtead Group, an industrial equipment rental firm, was the best performing UK stock on the UK’s FTSE 350 over the last decade, data firm Refinitiv said today, with a compound annual growth rate of over 40 per cent. A £1,000 investment 10 years ago in Ashtead, which was founded in Surrey and is now City-based, [...]
