Total expands battery business as oil majors look beyond global peak oil April 4, 2019 French giant Total has teamed up with a Chinese battery maker, as oil majors around the world work to future-proof their businesses. Total subsidiary Saft signed an agreement with Tianneng Energy Technology to expand their production of lithium-ion batteries. Read more: Shell switches 700,000 customers to renewables as it rebrands First Utility They plan to [...]
Debate: Should investors panic about a US recession after the Treasury bond yield curve inverted? April 4, 2019 Should investors panic about a US recession after the Treasury bond yield curve inverted? Yes, says Michael Horan, head of trading at Pershing EMEA. The inversion has been on the cards since December last year. The yield curve represents real investors, putting real money to work, and at the moment, they are willing to accept [...]
Unexpected rise in US oil stockpiles steals the wind from Opec’s sails April 3, 2019 Oil prices ended a three-day winning streak today despite edging close to the $70 per mark in the morning. International standard Brent crude reached up to $69.95 per barrel at around 9.20am, its highest point since November, before slowly giving back gains. Read more: Oil price hits 2019 peak as Trump moots new sanctions against [...]
Anti-fracking protesters deal blow against Ineos in court April 3, 2019 Anti-fracking campaigners declared victory today as they gave Britain’s biggest private company Ineos a bloody nose at the Court of Appeal. Joe Corre, the son of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, and Joe Boyd were appealing a “draconian” 2017 High Court injunction, which restricted anti-fracking protests at Ineos sites. Read more: Cuadrilla blocked from fracking at second [...]
Cryptocurrency bitcoin jumps back above $5,000 after hitting yearly high April 3, 2019 Bitcoin is trading back above $5,000 this afternoon after hitting a 2019 high earlier this week. The cryptocurrency soared 20 per cent within an hour yesterday morning reaching a high of $5,087, breaking the $5,000 barrier for the first time since November last year. Read more: Bitcoin hits yearly high as it rises above $5,000 Bitcoin’s [...]
European stock markets rise ahead of US-China trade talks April 3, 2019 European stock markets rose today as markets reacted well to upcoming US-China trade talks, and took heart in a growing Eurozone service sector and better-than-expected retail sales. Read more: Global stocks rise with investors optimistic about US-China trade talks Germany’s benchmark Dax index was the biggest climber, rising 1.2 per cent by 1.30pm UK time, [...]
Turkish inflation stays below 20 per cent as election results remain uncertain April 3, 2019 Turkish annual inflation stayed just below 20 per cent in March, according to data posted by the country’s statistics institute today as wrangling over local elections continues. Read more: Turkish lira falls against dollar as US suspends fighter jet delivery The inflation rate increased very slightly from February but was well below the highs seen towards [...]
Six tips to protect your portfolio during a market downturn April 3, 2019 When equity markets took a turn for the worse towards the end of last year, the onslaught of predictions about the end of the 10-year bull run came flooding in. With the markets creeping upwards since the start of 2019, it now seems that expectations of a bear market were premature. Even experienced fund managers [...]
Pound rises on May-Corbyn Brexit talks April 3, 2019 The pound rose to $1.3184 this morning after the announcement last night by Prime Minister Theresa May that she would work with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn over Brexit. The pound, which rose sharply on the news, had fallen as low as $1.2997 in the past week. Talks between May and Corbyn could start as early [...]
Spreadbetter CMC Markets warns full year revenue and profit will be hit by regulatory crackdown April 3, 2019 Spread betting and online trading group CMC Markets said today its full year revenue and profit will be hit by a regulatory crackdown on the sector. CMC said it expects to report contract for difference and spread betting revenue of around £110m for the year to 31 March, 37 per cent lower than the previous [...]
