RBS feels the pain as British Airways’ parent IAG soars on a stolid day for the FTSE 100 February 24, 2017 The FTSE 100 ended the week with less bang, more whimper on Friday as it dipped by 0.38 per cent. London’s main index dipped below 7,200 points briefly before recovering to close at 7,243.70 points. The weaker pound, which fell to lows of $1.2483 US dollars in spot trading in the late afternoon, did little [...]
FTSE reshuffle: Dixons Carphone, Easyjet, Capita and Intu all face relegation February 24, 2017 It's FTSE 100 reshuffle time again next week – and research suggests Dixons Carphone, EasyJet, Capita and Intu Properties could all be in the relegation zone. The Share Centre said potential replacements include the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, whose focus on international investments means it is making the most of a stronger pound, and asset [...]
Gold prices have surged to the highest level since the US Presidential election in November February 24, 2017 Gold has surged today, surpassing $1,250 for the first time since the week of Donald Trump's US election win in November. Prices for the yellow metal jumped to $1,260.40 per ounce, up $9 or 0.72 per cent this morning, while spot gold prices increased to $1,260.19 in the afternoon. The safe haven asset is attracting investors amid fresh uncertainty [...]
Star fund manager Neil Woodford: Bank shares are in recovery mode February 24, 2017 Shares in UK-listed banks are on their way to recovery, one of the UK's leading fund managers has said – although he also speculated over the role of regulators. The FT reported this morning that star fund manager Neil Woodford had said UK lenders are "more investable than they've been in a long time", adding [...]
Trump and the markets: the good news and the bad news February 23, 2017 | City Talk The equity rally since Clinton was “Trump-ed” on 8 November has been the biggest for any new president since Herbert Hoover was elected in 1929. While some believe it marks the early stages of a paradigm shift, others have rationalised the move as “Trump without the bad stuff”. As hedge fund manager Seth Klarman recently [...]
Prices on the rise: What next for inflation? February 23, 2017 | City Talk Inflation is waking up Most of the major central banks are predicting rises in inflation. Price pressure was already beginning to build in 2016 as the world economy showed signs of improvement. Now the policies of a new Trump administration – lower taxes and increased government spending – could increase that pressure. The expectation among [...]
Oil prices are climbing as Opec claims it will deliver further output cuts February 21, 2017 Oil prices have climbed today as Mohammad Barkindo, secretary general of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), said the group and non-members including Russia will boost compliance with agreed oil production curbs. Benchmark Brent crude prices are trading 1.73 per cent higher, or $0.97, at $57.15 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate prices are up [...]
Coup de grace: Are investors misjudging Marine Le Pen’s chances of victory in France’s presidential election? February 21, 2017 "Fool me twice, shame on me,” goes the idiom. Caught out by shock victories for the Leave and Trump campaigns in 2016, investors are determined not to let political risk get the better of them a third time as the French presidential election approaches this spring. Since the beginning of the year, French government bonds [...]
The EU mustn’t shoot itself in the foot – euro clearing thrives in London February 21, 2017 Brexit has presented EU leaders with something of a quandary: should they punish the UK in a bid to preserve their political union, or, in doing so, do they risk shooting themselves in the foot? To put it another way – will they allow politics to trump economics? In the immediate aftermath of last June’s EU [...]
Wellcome Trust set for $100m windfall from Snap IPO as tech firm woos City investors February 20, 2017 The Wellcome Trust is set for a huge windfall from the hottest tech IPO of the year. Snap's public offering, expected next week, will return around $100m (£80.3m) to the science institution following on from successful early bets on Facebook and Alibaba, among others. It comes as the Los Angeles-based startup sought to woo European investors, bringing its IPO [...]
