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Shell follows BP by marking down the value of its assets
Thursday 02 Jul 2020The £22 billion worth of asset write-downs announced on 30 June by Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSB ) reflected its lower commodity price assumptions in the wake of coronavirus. They provided a gloomy trailer to its second quarter results but there were some bright spots for investors to take away. The...
UK GDP figures are set to get worse
Thursday 02 Jul 2020The stress on the UK economy and on public finances from the coronavirus continues to be very evident. This has implications for the markets, inflation and sterling as we move into the third quarter. Also looming large on the horizon is an apparent end of September deadline set by the UK Government...
Holiday bookings ‘explode’ but the stock market isn’t convinced
Thursday 02 Jul 2020Holiday companies say bookings have ‘exploded’ as travel restrictions ease, but the stock market seems less than enthusiastic. From 6 July, blanket restrictions on non-essential overseas travel will be relaxed in the UK, and holidaymakers will be allowed to travel to certain European countries...
Taking stock of markets and the major challenges ahead
Thursday 02 Jul 2020As we reach the halfway stage in what has been a year of upheaval, we thought we would look at which markets and sub-areas of those markets have held up best and which are still nursing their wounds. For the first half of the year the UK’s FTSE 100 benchmark of large cap companies had lost 16.9%...
Gear4music is back in a profitable groove
Thursday 25 Jun 2020Shares in online musical instruments retailer Gear4music ( G4M:AIM ) rallied 21.1% to 387.5p after the York-headquartered company reported (23 June) a ‘strong return to profitability’ for the year to March 2020. This expunged doubts that Gear4music couldn’t achieve the operational improvements...
Saudi stake-building is no answer to BT’s dismal stock performance
Thursday 25 Jun 2020The Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund (PIF) is thought to be quietly building a stake in UK telecoms giant BT ( BT.A ) , but hopes that the sovereign wealth fund is laying the foundations for an all-out takeover have been shot down. Rumours have emerged that PIF has been buying slugs of BT stock...
Has the death of physical retail been over-exaggerated?
Thursday 25 Jun 2020Has the death of physical retail stores been over-exaggerated? Investment bank Morgan Stanley believes they could make a comeback after lockdown ends, based on the findings of its survey of 1,000 people conducted in May which suggests that many consumers are missing in-store shopping for clothing...
Federal Reserve sparks record high yield bond issuance
Thursday 25 Jun 2020This month is on track to be the busiest June on record for the issuance of dollar-denominated high yield or ‘junk’ bonds, with almost $24 billion of bonds priced by the middle of the month. This follows a record level of issuance in May, as corporate borrowers continue to flood the market after...
Wirecard scandal harks back to dark days of the Neuer Markt
Thursday 25 Jun 2020The shocking news from German mobile payments firm Wirecard, one of the supposed gems of the country’s technology sector, that the €1.9 billion ‘missing’ from its accounts may never have been there in the first place, will ring bells with investors who remember the tech bubble 20 years ago and the...
Valuation and competition pose a threat to Zoom's soaring share price
Thursday 18 Jun 2020City analysts remain split over cloud-based video calls business Zoom Video Communications after the stock’s stunning 273% surge this year. Millions of people globally have used its platform to stay in touch with family and friends during lockdown. Users must to pay to hold a meeting that lasts for...