What is microfinance and why does it matter for investors? November 25, 2019 | City Talk Exclusion from the financial system is widely regarded as a major obstacle to people’s efforts to grow out of poverty. In 2017, 1.7 billion adults across the globe had no access to a bank account, with the vast majority of them living in emerging and frontier markets. 56 per cent of these were women, and [...]
FTSE 100 jumps on US-China trade war optimism as Tory polling boosts pound November 25, 2019 The FTSE 100 rose more than almost half a per cent higher today as China signalled it is willing to bring an end to its prolonged trade war with the US. Meanwhile sterling jumped 0.3 per cent higher as the latest election polls put the Tories on track to win a majority in December’s election. [...]
Hopes of US-China trade deal boost Asian stocks amid Hong Kong local elections November 25, 2019 Asian stocks rallied slightly overnight, as investors hoped for progress in the trade war between the US and China. It comes in part as a reaction to comments by US national security adviser Robert O’Brian over the weekend, that an initial – or so called phase one – trade agreement with China is still possible [...]
5m customers switch energy supplier in 2019 so far November 25, 2019 Over 5m customers have switched energy supplier so far in 2019, Energy UK has revealed, as consumers continue to make the most of increased competition. The latest figures show that 626,284 customers moved to a new supplier last month – down 1.1 per cent on October 2018. Read more: National Grid and SSE shift to [...]
National Grid and SSE shift to overseas ownership to counter Labour nationalisation plans November 24, 2019 The backlash to Jeremy Corbyn’s sweeping nationalisation plans has begun, as two of the UK’s leading power companies said that they had shifted ownership of their British operations overseas. The Sunday Times revealed that SSE and National Grid had confirmed that they had set up offshore companies in Switzerland and Luxembourg and Hong Kong respectively [...]
Oil price growth stagnates on China trade worries after two-month highs November 23, 2019 Oil prices fell on Friday after previously hitting two-month highs, negating the week’s gains as fears over China-US trade talks were reignited. Brent crude oil futures fell by 1 per cent to end Friday on $63.39 a barrel, despite hitting a high of $64.27 earlier in the day. Read more: Oil industry reacts to Labour’s [...]
Sterling falls against the dollar as UK economy slows but US picks up November 22, 2019 The pound has fallen against the dollar as traders near the end of their week after survey data was better than expected in the US but painted a gloomy picture of the UK economy. Sterling was trading 0.59 per cent lower against the greenback by 4.40pm, taking it to $1.283. Read more: FTSE 100 leads [...]
FTSE 100 soars above European rivals as pound weakens November 22, 2019 The FTSE 100 jumped this afternoon, ending the week with a strong finish amid a drop in the pound and strong gains in some sectors. The UK’s blue-chip index led its European counterparts upwards, rising 1.21 per cent. Read more: Sterling falls as UK economy slows and US accelerates France’s CAC 40 index had climbed [...]
Asian markets edge up but US-China trade war uncertainty lingers November 22, 2019 Asian markets began to recover on Friday after hitting three-week lows the day before, but gains were subdued by investor caution over the chance of a US-China trade deal being struck. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.13 per cent by 7.30am UK time. The index had dropped as much as [...]
Oil industry reacts to Labour’s new £11bn tax pledge November 21, 2019 A controversial Labour pledge to raise up to £11bn from a new levy on oil and gas companies to help retrain 37,000 workers in the industry to “make the transition to a clean economy” has met with fierce criticism from industry bodies. Jeremy Corbyn revealed the tax at the launch of the Labour manifesto in Birmingham earlier [...]
