The Financial Conduct Authority warns against cloned firms
The Financial Conduct Authority has recently issued warnings against fraudsters posing to work for authorised firms including Raymond James Investment Services Ltd and Equerry Investment Management.
Scammers at these ‘clone’ firms often cold-call investors in the efforts to promote property and shares that are overpriced, worthless, non-tradable and even non-existent. As an attempt to be considered genuine, fraudsters from ‘clone’ firms use both the firm’s name and the firm reference number (FRN) before providing their own phone number, address and website details to victims. The scammers have also be known to copy the website of an authorised firm, to then carry out subtle changes such as the phone number.
How to protect yourself:
It is recommended to only deal with financial services that have been authorised and to verify the identity of a firm by confirming their FRN and contact details.
On top of this, it is always important to call firms back on the switchboard number given on the Register. which can be accessed through the FCA website – www.fca.org.uk.
What can you do if you have been scammed:
Investment scams can be extremely difficult to identify, but if you think you may have been scammed by a clone firm, it is very important to immediately stop sending money and report it, which can be done by the FCA’s Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768.
Dell to buy EMC in a record technology deal
The computer company Dell Inc has announced that it is uniting with data storage company EMC Corp to create an enterprise tech powerhouse.
This $67 billion deal aims to help Dell diversify away from the falling demand in the personal-computer market into data storage, which has been identified as a key growth area.
As part of this deal, EMC shareholders will receive $33.15 per share, with Dell paying $24.05 per share in cash whilst also giving EMC shareholders a special stock that tracks the share price in virtual software provider VMWare Inc.
According to Michael Dell, Dell’s chairman and CEO, this record-breaking tech deal is “all about bringing together complementary technologies and helping our customers address the challenges and opportunities that this digital future is creating.”
Whilst this merger is set to be costly and complex to execute, Joe Tucci the head of EMC, defends the deal stating; “The waves of change we now see in our industry are unprecedented and, to navigate this change, we must create a new company for a new era”.
News of the deal was first leaked in the Wall Street Journal last week and is expected to close between March and October of 2016.
Safiya Bashir on 12/10/2015
EU referendum: what are the economic repercussions?
With the EU referendum set to be held before the end of 2017, British lawmakers are to start an inquiry focusing on the economic impacts of staying in the European Union as different campaigns are under way to sway public opinion on whether the UK should remain or leave the European Union.
The Conservative lawmaker, Andrew Tyrie, who chairs the cross-party committee has said that “This inquiry will be wide-ranging, dealing with all the economic and financial consequences of the UK’s EU membership, and the impact of departure”.
Whilst the issue of the UK’s membership to the EU has remained a constant debate within the Conservative government, Jeremy Corbyn has announced that the Labour party will campaign to stay in the EU; stating “We will make the case that membership of the European Union helps Britain to create jobs, secure growth, encourage investment and tackle the issues that cross borders”. Much of the UK’s financial sector, which is fundamentally affected by our membership with the EU, is set to back this view due to the easy access to European markets and substantial trade surplus Britain has with the rest of Europe.
Currently campaigning for Britain to remain in the 28 member bloc is Lord Rose, former M&S chairman, who recently said in a statement that “Those who want us to leave Europe would risk our prosperity, threaten our safety and diminish our influence in the world. We know our economy would take a hit”. A form of this hit has been recognised by Sir Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who predicted that 3.3 million jobs are linked to Britain’s membership to the EU and will be at risk should the UK leave.
On the other side of the spectrum lies the new cross-party campaign group that is being backed by three of Britain’s biggest political donors who are calling for Britain to leave the EU. Backers of the Leave campaign argue that leaving the EU will not negatively affect Britain’s trade with Europe but means that we will regain legal control of aspects such as trade, tax, economic regulation and energy. Kate Hoey, co-chairman of the Labour Leave campaign, stated “if we vote to leave, then the £350 million we send to Brussels every week can be spent on our priorities like the NHS”.
Robert Koopman, the WTO’s chief economist has made clear that whilst the economic repercussions of leaving the EU remain unclear, the results of the referendum should be “viewed with some concern for global economic growth”.
Safiya Bashir on 12/10/2015
Goldman Sachs: Oil rally will be short-lived
Despite warnings, the price in oil has increased due to slowing of U.S. drilling activity and escalating conflict in the Middle East. This has led to a rally of Brant Crude by 24% since the low of $42.44 on 24/08/2015 leading to Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden, to comment that he saw “the first mixed signs of recovery” in oil prices.
Goldman Sachs has said the gains in oil prices are merely a blip and that a glut of crude may keep oil prices as low as $20 per barrel for up to 15 years with the Goldman analysts stating “We continue to view the oil market as oversupplied and with low prices required to achieve the sufficient rebalancing in 2016”.
In response to the falling rig count, which fell to 605 in the week ending 9th October and are the lowest since July 2010, Goldman Sachs commented saying “The current rig count is pointing to U.S. production declining sequentially between 2Q15 and 4Q15 by 255,000 barrels per day”.
Safiya Bashir on 12/10/2015
Ineos buys North Sea gas fields from Russian billionaire
Swiss chemicals giant Ineos has bought its first British North Sea gas fields, after Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman was forced to sell them as the West tightened sanctions against Russia.
Whilst Britain has told Fridman he is still welcome to invest in the country, the energy secretary before the election Ed Davey told Fridman’s firm LetterOne that they must sell the fields within six months. The assets, which include the Breagh and Clipper South fields, provide up to 8 percent of Britain’s requirements and could not be at risk of being affected by sanctions against Russia. The UK threatened Fridman with a license revocation if a sale was not finalised by the 20th October.
In a statement made today, Ineos Chairman Jim Ratcliffe said they were pleased with the acquisition:
“They are high quality, low risk assets and they come with a highly experienced management team. Whilst no decisions have yet been made, we will continue to evaluate other opportunities in the North Sea.
“INEOS has been very open about its intention to make strategic investments in the North Sea and this acquisition is our first step in fulfilling this goal. It will also help our UK petrochemical assets to have ongoing access to competitive energy.”
Last year Ineos announced plans to invest $1 billion in British shale gas exploration using fracking technology, and have invested heavily in shipping and processing fracked gas from America.
Glencore accepting bids on Austrialian and Chilean mines
Mining giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) has announced plans to sell copper mines in both Australia and Chile, in an attempt to reduce its overall debt.
The firm’s Australian copper mine in Cobar, New South Wales, and its Lomas Bayas copper mine in the Atacama desert in Chile are for sale. Shares in the company have fallen over 55 percent this year, and this is the latest in a series of measures instigated to pull back the debt created by its 2013 takeover of Xstrata.
In a statement, the company said that the sale is a response to several “unsolicited expressions of interest”, and that it “will allow potential buyers to bid to purchase either one or both of the mines and may or may not result in a sale”.
The company has also pledged to cut capital expenditure, suspend dividend payments and raise $2.5 billion of new equity capital, with the share sale completed last month. On Friday, it announced plans to slash it’s zinc production, sending shares soaring.
Glencore are currently trading down 1.05 percent at 127.75 pence per share (0857GMT)
Strong day for China, mixed for Asia and dollar
Chinese shares had a strong day on Monday, rising over 3 percent to their highest level in seven weeks, whilst other Asian markets remained largely flat.
Bejing has taken further measures to stimulate the market and has said the correction is “almost over”. The Chinese government’s actions over the past weeks have supported various sectors and seems to have calmed investor sentiment.
The Shanghai Composite was up 3.11% at 3,282.29 points in afternoon trade, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 0.96%. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi closed flat, up 0.1%. Japan was closed for a national holiday.
September’s U.S. jobs report has continued to have an affect on the markets, with investors finding it likely that the Fed will not deliver a rate hike this year. Although the Bank of England’s Mark Carney said on Friday that England will not necessarily wait for the US to move first, there is speculation that interest rates won’t be going up in the UK either until autumn next year.
According to the EY Item Club in an interview with BBC’s Radio 4 this morning, the UK is unlikely to move this year:
“Remember last year, that was when oil prices crashed and we saw some cuts on the forecourt in petrol prices.
“Unfortunately those cuts wear out, they come out of the 12-month calculation and inflation will start to push up then.”
The dollar has struggled against other currencies since the jobs report on Friday, trading at its lowest levels in over a month.
Crowd2Fund launch first investment marketplace The Exchange
Crowd2Fund, one of the UK’s most successful crowdfunding platforms, has launched a revolutionary new platform: The Exchange, an online marketplace allowing investors to trade Crowd2Fund investments, giving access to capital for sellers and the opportunity to snap up a bargain for buyers.
It’s concept is not dissimilar to eBay, but for debt investments; sellers advertise investments they wish to sell and define the price of the trade. The better the price the sooner they get access to their capital, meaning that anyone interested in buying has the chance to buy some undervalued assets. Buying in this way, at a later stage in the investment, means those interested also have the advantage of seeing how well the investment has performed and can earn up to 15 percent APR by purchasing loans that are repaying successfully. What’s more, the new platform is free and easy to use, meaning anyone can get involved.
Crowd2Fund Chief Executive Chris Hancock comments:
“Our Exchange is another example of how London-based Fintech brands are creating common sense innovations to help businesses grow and investors earn better returns, securely and in a regulated way. The Exchange is a simple and free mechanism for hanging investment which we expect to be largely self-governing with investors having all the tools they need to make their decisions.”
One of the key reasons investors are put off investing in equity crowdfunding is a lack of foreseeable exit strategy. However, The Exchange makes this possible and may well attract more cautious investors to the idea of crowdfunding.
Crowd2Fund is one of the biggest UK crowdfunding platforms, and has successfully raised £2 million from a range of UK and international investors since its launch in 2014. For further information on The Exchange, visit the website here. Glencore shares shoot up on zinc cut announcement
Shares in mining giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) shot up nearly 6 percent this morning, after the company announced plans to slash its zinc production in an effort to cut costs.
Glencore shares have fallen nearly 30% over the last few months. To counteract this, the company are cutting 500,000 tonnes of zinc production; the equivalent 4% of the world’s total supply. They will be closing their Lady Loretta mine in Australia and Iscaycruz mine in Peru.
Glencore’s announcement sent both its share price and the price of zinc up 6%. In a statement, Glencore said: “We remain positive about the medium and long term outlook for zinc, lead and silver, however we are taking a proactive approach to manage our production in response to current prices.” Glencore is currently trading up 6.7 percent, at 128.84 pence per share. (0938GMT)Bank of England vote to keep rates at 0.5 percent
The Bank of England voted 8-1 on Thursday to keep Britain’s interest rates at the record low of 0.5 percent.
Only one committee member, Ian McCafferty, dissented. UK interest rates have now remained unchanged for more than six years.
In a statement made yesterday, the Bank of England governor Mark Carney reiterated yesterday that Britain will not necessarily wait for the Fed to move first. “The exact timing of the Fed move is not decisive for the timing of the move by the Bank of England. “We will take our responsibilities. We will determine the timing for the start of the process of monetary policy normalization.”Former Bank of England policymaker Andrew Sentence has also spoken out on the subject, telling the BBC’s Today programme that central banks in the UK and the US “need to be courageous” and raise interest rates, and that the banks are focusing too much on short term factors such as falling oil prices.