Listed litigation funders scramble to avoid Burford contagion August 8, 2019 Listed litigation funders have distanced themselves from Burford Capital today, after a short seller attack yesterday sent Burford’s shares on a rollercoaster ride. Manolete Partners and Litigation Capital Management (LCM) today pointed out how their models differ to Burford’s after their shares fell steeply yesterday in reaction to the short-seller attack on Burford. Activist Muddy [...]
Evraz hails ‘healthy’ results despite massive drop in profit August 8, 2019 Miner Evraz released a set of “rather healthy results” today even as net profit dropped by more than two thirds in the first half of the year. Lower prices for vanadium and coking coal took a 22 per cent chunk off the company’s earnings before interest, tax appreciation and amortisation (ebitda). Read more: Sterling falls [...]
FCA: Ballooning exchange-traded fund sector no threat to financial stability August 8, 2019 Britain’s financial watchdog has said the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) market is not a threat to financial stability and can cope with the sort of liquidity issues that damaged Neil Woodford’s flagship fund. Read more: New business down at Hargreaves Lansdown as Woodford scandal bites The wider world of funds has come under scrutiny after Woodford’s [...]
UK GDP preview: Banks down, sterling ready to break out? August 8, 2019 | City Talk Ahead of the UK Q2 GDP print on Friday, gilts and UK bank stocks betray concerns about the economy that the official figures are likely to back up. Meanwhile GBPUSD is nearing the end of a narrowing wedge that could signal it’s ready to move out of its August range on whatever the GDP point [...]
European stock markets buoyed as Chinese trade beats expectations August 8, 2019 European stock markets have risen this morning, following their Asian counterparts higher after better-than-expected Chinese trade data. Read more: China hits back after US labels rival a currency manipulator Official data showed Chinese exports benefited from a falling renminbi and rose 3.3 per cent in July year on year, far exceeding analysts’ expectations of a [...]
Sterling to tumble further as no-deal Brexit worries intensify August 8, 2019 Sterling will continue its losing streak and tumble further as a no-deal Brexit becomes increasingly likely, a Reuters poll of foreign exchange analysts has found. Read more: Sterling resumes fall as Brexit debate takes bizarre turn The pound will slide beyond recent two-year lows against the dollar to trade between $1.17 and $1.20. It slumped [...]
US and European stock markets diverge as trade war jitters continue August 7, 2019 US stock markets fell today and investors bought up so-called safe haven assets as central banks around the world slashed interest rates in response to slowdowns. Read more: China hits back after US labels rival a currency manipulator European stocks climbed, however, as deals in the German chemicals sector provided a welcome boost to equities [...]
Oil price falls to lowest point in eight months August 7, 2019 The price of international oil standard Brent crude plummeted to its lowest point since the beginning of the year today as trade war worries gripped the market. The 3.2 per cent oil price drop came after a torrid week for markets, with prices down by around $8 since last Wednesday. Read more: Market correction pushes [...]
Lessons in investing from England’s Cricket World Cup victory August 7, 2019 | City Talk It may not have felt like it at times during the final but England started the Cricket World Cup as clear favourites to win the tournament. Forget the weight of money that tends to distort domestic teams’ odds ahead of a major sporting event. Independent data had England ranked as the top one-day cricket side [...]
Heavy metal: FTSE 100 miner Glencore earnings crash as copper prices sink August 7, 2019 Glencore earnings dived 32 per cent to $5.6bn in the first half of 2019, the miner confirmed this morning, as it blamed poor performance in its African mines and lower prices for copper and cobalt. The figures Glencore’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) slumped 32 per cent year on year to $5.6bn. [...]
