Collahuasi copper mine, north Chile, Glencore
Sponsored Content
India and Britain to strengthen ties with ‘FinTech bridge’
Britain’s Minister of State for Trade & Investment Francis Maude has announced an agreement with India which will strengthen commercial ties between India and the UK.
India and Britain will collaborate to create a ‘FinTech bridge’ between the two countries. Led by Alok Vajpeyi and Britain’s Startupbootcamp, it will encourage close partnership and investments in Britain and Indian FinTech companies, and help them expand globally.
Britain and India have always had strong business links; in 2014-15 India emerged as Britain’s third biggest job creator, creating 7,730 new jobs. Opportunity for investment in India is blossoming, with its economic growth rate at 6.4 percent – well above the global rate of 3 percent. Many UK firms in this sector are already well established in India, including Standard Chartered and HSBC.
In the announcement, made to over 200 students at the IIT Bombay, Francis Maude said:
“Our Government is committed to an enhanced partnership with India. I will be meeting Indian Government and business leaders to discuss how we can support Indian PM Modi’s aspirations for India’s economy.
“It will encourage close collaboration and investment in UK and Indian Fintech companies and help them expand globally. Whether their focus is financial inclusion or access to lending, Fintech companies are creating global solutions.”
The initiative will be called ‘FinTech20 India’, in close partnership with FinTechCity of the UK, and will search for the twenty best FinTech innovators in India. Companies will be selected by a panel of experts from the UK and India and will be promoted in the FinTech50 2016 when it is released to a world-wide audience next year.
Prime Minister Modi, whose goal is to elevate India’s status globally as a country for investment, has described India’s engagement with the UK as an “unbeatable combination”.
UK Investor have partnered with Charles Hanover Investments to offer a free report detailing further the investment opportunity in Asia. To download it, click here.
Wetherspoons pubs disclose 2% profit drop
Pub chain JD Wetherspoons (LON:JDW) disclosed a 2 percent drop in full year profit before tax on Friday, citing higher costs and new cut price food and drink offers as reasons for the added pressure.
Underlying sales grew 3.3 percent and total sales rose by 7.4 percent to 1.5 billion pounds. The group’s profit before tax was£77.8m, down from £79.4 last year.
Chairman Tim Martin highlighted the excessive taxes placed on pub food in comparison to supermarkets and restaurants, and the negative effects of the disparity; citing the fact that pubs have lost 50 percent of their alcohol sales to supermarkets over the last 35 years due to this.
He said in a statement:
“As previously stated, a number of factors likely to influence our trading performance this financial year are difficult to quantify at this early stage. Positive aspects include an increase in pub numbers, a better economy and slightly lower interest rates; less favourable aspects include heightened competition from supermarkets and restaurant groups and increased staff, repairs, bar and food costs. We continue to anticipate a trading performance similar to, or slightly above, that achieved in the last financial year.”
Wetherspoons is currently trading up 1.78 percent at 732.78 pence per share (0910GMT).
Friday proves another tricky day for Asian stocks
Friday proved another tough day for Asian markets, with Tokyo bearing the brunt of the volatility.
Japan’s Nikkei benchmark index spent most of the day in the red, closing down 0.19% at 18,264.22. Although it surged almost 8% on Wednesday, the Tokyo index closed down 2.5% on Thursday – sustaining some heavy losses. Investor sentiment is being increasingly affected by speculation that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at their meeting next week, which is affecting markets globally. However, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō is continuing to instigate policy to stimulate the economy, including the news that Japan Post is seeking to raise as much as 1.39tn yen ($11.5bn, £7.4bn) in a stock market listing. The Japan Post controls the country’s largest bank, Japan Post Bank, and Japan Post Insurance, the biggest insurer and will be be one of Japan’s largest public share sales in more than 30 years. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said the share offering would encourage a shift of savings out of bank deposits and into the stock market.Bank of England vote 8-1 to keep rates on hold
The Bank of England voted to keep interest rates at their record low of 0.5% yesterday, with just one member voting against.
The MPC reiterated that it did not feel the volatility in China would slow down economic growth in this country, and that interest rates will still be raised in the near future. However, it lowered its estimate for the UK’s economic growth in the third quarter of this year from 0.7% down to 0.6%. The pound jumped to a two-week high against the dollar on the news. The MPC said in the minutes of its monthly policy meeting that “although the downside risks emanating from overseas had risen, it would be premature to draw strong inferences from this month’s events for the likely path of activity in the United Kingdom.” The Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney commented: “Domestic momentum is being underpinned by robust real income growth, supportive credit conditions, and elevated business and consumer confidence. “The rate of unemployment has fallen by over two percentage points since the middle of 2013, although that decline has levelled off more recently.” Analysts are speculating that the Federal Reserve will raise rates in the US next week for the first time since the financial crisis; if so, effects will be felt across markets globally and the Bank of England may be more inclined to follow suit.Lloyd’s insurance reports 28 percent profit drop
The Lloyd’s of London insurance market disclosed a pre-tax profit drop of 28 percent due to lower investment returns and a competitive market.
Pre tax profit fell to £1.19 billion, with a return on capital falling to 10.7 percent from 16 percent last year.
Lloyd’s Chief Executive, Inga Beale, said:
“These results demonstrate Lloyd’s success and resilience despite challenging underwriting and investment conditions. This sizable profit is in large part due to the market’s expert underwriting and our deep commitment to rigorous oversight..
In a statement, the company said that the results were a solid achievement in the light of the challenging conditions faced by the industry. Lloyd’s cited several expensive claims as the reason for the slower performance, including the Pemex oil rig in Mexico, the Germanwings flight 9525 crash and aircraft bombings during conflict in Yemen.
However, Lloyd’s continues to be highly rated with an A rating from A.M.Best, A+ from Standard & Poor’s and AA- from Fitch. According to the company, this demonstrates “Lloyd’s excellent underwriting oversight, and continued investment in risk and exposure management practices.”
House prices rise nearly 9% in three months to August
British house prices have increased 9 percent in the three months to August, according to mortgage lender Halifax.
Prices have jumped 2.7 percent in the last month, with the average price of a home across the UK now at £204,674, acording to the Halifax measure.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) also released figures today, warning that house price inflation across the UK is ikely to hit 6% this year. At the start of 2015, Rics expected that prices would rise by just 3%.
Halifax economist Martin Ellis told the BBC that “strengthening demand, and highly constrained supply, are likely to mean that house price growth continues to be robust in the short-term.”Japanese and Chinese stocks down after poor economic data
Asian stocks were off to a bleak start on Thursday, as economic data from Japan weighed heavily on investors.
Japan’s Nikkei closed down 2.5 percent at 18,299.62, after surging nearly 8 percent on Wednesday morning.
Core machinery orders, Japan’s most important gauge of capital expenditure, fell for the second month in a row in July, down 3.6 percent. This is a further indication that Japan’s economy may not recover as quickly as expected after a disappointing second quarter.
In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite was down 1.1% to 3,206.69, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.2% to 21,639.29 points.
Figures released on Thursday showed China’s consumer price index (CPI) unexpectedly rose to 2% in August from a year ago marking a one-year high.
However the rise was mainly due to higher pork prices, rather than economic growth; pork is a big contributor to consumer prices in China and rose from 16.7 percent last year to 19.6 percent in August.
Struggling supermarket Morrisons sees 35 percent profit drop
Morrisons (LON:MRW) has announced plans to close 11 of its stores, in a effort to reverse the fortunes of the struggling supermarket chain.
The company disclosed a 35 percent slump in first-half profit to its lowest level in nine years, with like-for-like sales for the period up to August dropping 2.7% compared with the same period last year.
in annual sales, made an underlying pre-tax profit, before restructuring costs, of 141 million pounds in the six months to August 2, in line with forecasts.
The company said the turnaround for Morrisons would be a slow process:
“Customers and colleagues are beginning to notice improvements, but the turnaround will take time.”
New Chief Executive, David Potts, said:
“This is a difficult decision but one which we cannot see any way through to make those stores viable.”
Overall turnover fell 5.1 percent. Earlier this week, the company finalised a deal to sell its 140 convenience stores in order to focus on improving the bigger supermarkets.
Morissons are trading down 4.03 percent on the news, at 168.81 pence per share (0837GMT).
Should You Buy Glencore?
Should you buy Glencore?
You simply can’t ignore this…
Shares in Glencore have more than HALVED since the start of May.
Bargain hunters are beginning to take notice.
The Directors have been buying.
A big US hedge fund has been buying.
But should you be buying shares too?
Kind regards,
Galvan Research
Download the ‘Should You Buy Glencore?’ Report for free now.
A copy will be sent to you immediately.
Html code here! Replace this with any non empty text and that's it.
Galvan Research And Trading Limited
Authorised and regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority
Registered Office:
CMA House, Newham Road, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 2SU
Company No: 05054098
Risk Warning
All investments are speculative and prices may change quickly and go down as well as up. There is an extra risk of losing money when shares are bought in some smaller companies including “penny shares”. There can be a big difference between the buying price and the selling price of these shares and if they have to be sold immediately, you may get back much less than you paid for them or in some circumstances, it may be difficult to sell at any price.
Trading in Contracts for Difference (CFDs) and forex may not be suitable for all investors due to the high risk nature of the products. You may lose all of your initial stake through the use of leverage and may be required to make additional payments by way of margin on a frequent and sometimes daily basis. Failure to do so can result in the closure of part or all of your position.
The value of a CFD or forex may be affected by a variety of factors, including but not limited to, price volatility, market volume, foreign exchange rates and liquidity. CFDsand forex are short term trading tools. Commissions on CFDs are charged on the leveraged amount (not the deposit) and therefore costs can build up when frequently traded. You should evaluate potential losses against affordability. Extended runs of losses as well as profits can occur.
Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. If in any doubt, please seek further independent advice. Tax laws may be subject to change.
Privacy notice
By registering your details, you request us hereby to provide you on a continuing basis (in writing, email and by telephone) with investor updates, information on our own products and services and those of selected partners and third parties. To enable us to do so, and for our marketing purposes, you agree that we may process and hold your data in both manual and electronic form. You are free to “unsubscribe” from this service at any time. Should you wish to ask about the information we hold concerning you, you are invited to contact us at the above address. At no time will we provide your personal data to any other company except to our own associates, affiliates or agents. This notice is issued by Galvan Research And Trading Limited in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act. Be aware our telephone lines may be recorded or monitored for training purposes. To read our Privacy Notice in full please visit our website.
Start Up Loan Q&A: Lindsey Fish, Little Fish Event Management
In a series of posts on start-up companies, UK Investor are looking at alternative ways to fund businesses including crowdfunding, angel funding and pension led funding. Today’s posts covers the pros and cons of obtaining finance through a government initiative, the Start Up Loan.
Lindsey Fish is the founder of Little Fish, a corporate events management agency that she started from scratch instead of returning to work as a Marketing Manager in the City after maternity leave. She has recently launched her own event, the Mums Enterprise Roadshow, which is designed to help ambitious mums re-train, find flexible work, start or grow a business.
Lindsey chose a Start Up Loan over other methods of financing for several reasons. She only needed a small amount to cover upfront costs, so asking for a large sum from investors seemed unnecessary, and she wasn’t ready to give away any further equity.
“I liked the Start Up Loan scheme because it judges you on your cashflow and business plans, and the feasibility of success rather than just your personal credit score. Plus, you get support and mentoring for a year which is always great to have.”
When applying for a Start Up Loan, the website states that you submit an application and work with a business advisor to complete your application. It is then reviewed by the Start Up team, and if approved, the loan is yours. But is it really that easy?
For Lindsey, it really was that simple and the process went really smoothly. Her advice is to submit everything on time and take on board the advice of your business advisor.
“I had already done research, created a business plan and attempted a cashflow which they helped me finalise. Plus it helped that I already had Virgin StartUp and Talented Ladies Club on board, so it wasn’t just a pie in the sky idea; I had tangible proof it would work.
“I would recommend it for those who have already done quite a lot in their idea and can prove that it pretty much can’t fail, and if it does have a plan B to make the repayments.”
Start Up Loans are available for any businesses that have been trading for less that two years and based in the UK, and are available for amounts up to £25,000. Interest is fixed at 6% p.a over one to five years. If successful, the Start Up Loans company will put your business in touch with a mentor who can provide guidance and support to help you grow and develop your business.
As a Mum herself, it’s easy to see where Lindsey got the idea for her Mums Enterprise Roadshow Events, which encourage women to start their own businesses and get back into work, should they wish to. Last month, 2015’s Green Park Diversity report was published which showed that, although women now make up 25 percent of FTSE 100 board members, they’re still a minority in the city. Many attribute this to the difficulty of women trying to “have it all”; namely, a family and a career. Returning to work after having a baby can be a difficult transition; but with more and more firms introducing ‘family friendly’ policies, such as flexi time and paternity leave, is it becoming easier for women?
“For me, it wasn’t that I thought I would be at a disadvantage at all but I just felt that it wasn’t worth it. After the charges of commuting, a 25% salary cut if I went back four days and all day childcare some days didn’t leave me with a lot, I knew I could make that small amount I’d have left on my own.
“I do think it must be tough for women returning to their old job, as what may have been their number one priority isn’t any longer. That’s just my opinion though – I’m sure some women can do it all!”
A Start Up Loan has allowed Lindsey to get her business up and running, with perhaps less hassle and more certainty than crowdfunding or angel led funding. For more information on Start Up Loans, visit startuploans.co.uk.
The Mums Enterprise Roadshow will launch in 2016. Visit their website here.
Miranda Wadham on 09/09/2015