Top five tech stocks in 2017

Miranda Wadham
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Top five tech stocks in 2017
The Nasdaq, home to many of the biggest tech companies in America, hit the 6,000 mark for the first time ever on Tuesday.
As the tech industry continues to grow, as do tech stocks propensity for making money. Here are five tech stocks looking strong for 2017.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB)

Despite being one of the biggest players in the tech field already, Facebook’s sales soared a further 59 percent in the final quarter of 2016. Its Generally Accepted Accounting Principles profits rose 166 percent to $2.5 billion, with Facebook sales expected to grow a further 50 percent this year and 34 percent next year.
Its user base continues to grow, with 1.8 billion monthly active users and 84 percent of all advertising revenue coming from mobile at the end of 2016. The Facebook stock is currently trading up 0.70 percent at 146.49 (1136GMT).

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)

As the popularity of video games continues to rise in the age of Virtual Reality, Electronic Arts – or EA – is one of the industry’s biggest players. EA’s intellectual property includes FIFA, Madden NFL, Star Wars, Battlefield, the Sims, and Need for Speed. As a company, it is a well aware of the need to push into digital gaming, where margins are higher and subscription opportunities abound. “Although we are market perform-rated, we do think EA is a well-run, well-positioned company in a fundamentally strong industry, and expect the company to deliver average EPS growth in the low/mid-double digit range over the next five years,” Cowen analyst Doug Creutz said in a report. “Our rating simply reflects the fact that in the intermediate term, with a tough slate comp and FX headwinds, we think fiscal 2018 will be a slower-than-average growth year, without identifiable catalysts to generate investor excitement.” EA stock is currently trading up 0.19 percent at 92.99 (1137GMT).

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI)

South America’s eBay equivalent, MercadoLibre, has seen impressive growth over the past five years. The group operates largely in Brazil, which is characterized by economic turmoil, currency fluctuations, growing competition, and challenging logistics, but represents a key market in terms on consumer growth.
MercadoLibre overcame challenges in the region to grow its Brazilian revenue 57 percent and total revenue 30 percent in 2016. MercadoLibre stock is currently trading up 2.09 percent at 230.63 (1138GMT).

Twilio (NYSE:TWLO)

A less certain stock than many other listed here, clou-based company Twilio has delivered impressive revenue growth – but so far, with non-existent profits. Twilio’s cloud platform handles voice calls, SMS messages, videos, security, and other features for app developers, to which developers subscribe. Major customers include Facebook with both Messenger and Whatsapp, Uber and Airbnb. Demand for Twilio’s services have increased heavily of late, with revenue rising 60 percent annually to $82 million last year as active customer accounts rose 44 percent to 36,606. The company expects its revenue to grow another 31 percent -34 percent this year. Twilio’s stock is currently trading up 3.23 percent at 31.93 (1139GMT).

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW)

IT customer service company ServiceNOW specialises in help desk services within the IT industry. Revenues were boosted from $244 million to more than $1.8 billion between 2012 and 2016, and ServiceNow how has 735 customers from the Forbes Global 2000, and an average spend of about $1 million per year. ServiceNow is currently trading up 0.92 percent at 90.24 (1139GMT).

Imaginatik shares fall 10pc after disclosing net loss

Miranda Wadham
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Imaginatik shares fall 10pc after disclosing net loss
Innovation software company Imaginatik (LON:IMTK) saw shares drop over 10 percent on Tuesday, after reporting a net loss in a trading update. For the year ended March 31st 2017, the company expects to report an adjusted loss after tax of £0.55 million, broadly in line with market expectations. The result includes an exceptional foreign exchange loss of £0.23 million, arising as a result of the strong US dollar over the period. Revenues for the year are expected to be flat at approximately £3.9 million, after adding a total of 15 new customers during the year. Renewals in the period remained steady, with approximately 76 percent of the renewals by value being converted over the period. Matt Cooper, Non-Executive Chairman of Imaginatik, said it had been a year of “good underlying progress” for the group, adding that they had “improved the financial strength of the business by reducing trading losses, and maintained the critical investment in the business to enhance the Company’s consultancy and technology offerings.” However, investors remained less impressed, with shares currently trading down 11.11 percent on the news at 2.00 (1457GMT).

Top five highest paid FTSE CEOs

Miranda Wadham
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Top five highest paid FTSE CEOs
 
As controversy over CEO pay in the UK continues to grow, more and more company leaders are offering to take pay cuts in relation to the performance of the business. However, the pay gap is still widening, and these are the highest paid CEOs in the UK…

Sir Martin Sorrell

Sorrell, the CEO of advertising giant WPP, tops the list as the highest paid CEO in the FTSE 100. He was paid more than £40 million in 2016, taking the total payout received over the past five years at WPP to over than £200 million.

Ben van Beurden

The CEO of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell was promoted to his position in January 2014, quickly becoming the second highest paid CEO in the FTSE 100. In 2016 his pay jumped 60 percent in 8.263 million euros from 5.135 million a year earlier, mainly due to deferred bonuses and share plans.

Erik Engstrom

Engstrom has been CEO of international analytics group Relx since 2009. In 2014 his total pay stood at £20,681,000, pushing him into third place on the list.

Peter Long

CEO of travel industry heavyweight TUI group Peter Long received a total paycheck of £13.3 million in 2016. He has also sat on the board of Royal Mail since June 2015, being paid £300,000 a year.

Tidjane Thiam

Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam joined the company from his previous position at Prudential. Despite requesting a bonus cut in 2015, he still received 18.9 million Swiss francs – around $19.4 million – in cash and share awards from the bank.

London’s top four property hotspots

Miranda Wadham
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London’s top four property hotspots
If you’re looking for the next up-and-coming place to invest in London property, forget the old hotspot areas of Hackney and Dalston, whose house prices have long since surpassed those of affordability. Whether you’re a first time buyer, looking to buy-to-let or a renter who want something better for their buck, discover our recommendations for London’s hottest new locations.

Streatham

With established property markets such as Brixton and Peckham nearby, demand is now spreading into nearby Streatham. Often preceded by a reputation for crime gained in the 1980s, Streatham has since undergone a regeneration and offers a good location with South West London’s charm. Well connected to the city centre by the rail services from three stations and centred around the open space of Streatham Common, it is perfect for both families and commuters.
streatham
Park path in Streatham Common
Detached properties and town houses sell in the region of £750,000 – £3 million, with semis from £500,000 £2 million depending on the area. For rentals, a one-bed flat can be between £800 – £1,500 pcm.

Brent

Brent is often overlooked for being slightly too far out of the centre, but its distance comes with benefits. Average property prices in Barnet are below £600,000, and there’s a good range of both good private and state schools to choose from. Transport links into the centre are better than many places, benefitting from both National Rail services and the Underground line.
wembley
The area around Wembley stadium is being regenerated
The area around Wembley is undergoing a heavy regeneration, making what was one a desolate area very liveable. The area around the dubious West Hendon Estate is also seeing modernisation, with both new flats and affordable family homes are being built.

Sutton

House prices in the area have jumped by £30,000 since December last year – far beyond the UK average of £20,000; however at £378,000, the average house price in Sutton is £100,000 cheaper than the average for the capital. In its fourth edition, the Family Hotspots Report concluded the postcodes SM3, SM1 and SM2 were all in the top ten places in London for family friendly living. This covers North Cheam and Stonecot Hill; Belmont, South Sutton, South Cheam and East Ewell; and Sutton, Rose Hill, parts of The Wrythe and Carshalton, Benhilton and Erskine Village.

Silvertown

Some of London’s most exciting new developments have been given the go-ahead in Silvertown, the area adjacent to London City airport and the Excel centre. Millennium Mills, a derelict turn of 20th century flour mill in West Silvertown, is set to be turned into a large commercial workspace. It has excellent transport links with the DLR to both Canary Wharf and Bank, making it a perfect commuting hotspot. silvertown

Investor hunger for crowdfunding pushes Crowd2Fund growth to 4,700pc

Miranda Wadham
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Investor hunger for crowdfunding pushes Crowd2Fund growth to 4,700pc
Crowdfunding platform Crowd2Fund had a record-breaking start to the year, seeing exponential growth of 4,700 percent in the first quarter of 2017. The platform now transacts millions of pounds of funds on a monthly basis, maintaining the company’s record to date of zero defaults by funded businesses. Crowd2Fund raised debt crowdfunding finance for scores of different businesses throughout the quarter, within sectors including hospitality, real estate, and recruitment. The number of businesses receiving funding in the first quarter increased by 3900 percent on the same quarter last year.

IFISA

The platform is experiencing a 50 percent month on month growth rate, with its popularity coming in part for its ability to offer the Innovative Finance ISA. The last few months have seen an accelerated uptake of the product, with the expectation that this demand will continue with the ISA allowance having been raised from £15,240 in 2016/17 to £20,000 in 2017/18. 95 percent of investments are now made into this product, despite sceptics dubbing the project a “damp squib” in the wake of its release.

Total funds raised

The total funds raised on the platform in Q1 is up a staggering 4700 percent year on year, benefitting from a flummox of new investors showing the propensity to increase their size of investment into each individual campaign. Another factor likely to have increased the total number of funds raised is the drop in interest rates to 0.25 percent, announced by the Bank of England in August last year.

Registered users

Registered users on the platform increased by 236 percent, with 75 percent of these being investors and the other 25 percent being business users. The figures are encouraging, showing that the demand for debt crowdfunding and the IFISA is no longer latent and that users have begun deploying funds soon after registrations as opposed to just signing up out of curiosity.

Highlight campaigns

The success of Norman Rogers, a fish and chip business based in Grimsby, proves that debt crowdfunding is a viable financing option for more traditional businesses based outside of London. The fish and chip wholesaler reached their funding target of £50,000 in just over a week. Hospitality and leisure businesses have continued to perform well, due to them being easy to understand for everyday investors. The successes of Micro Fitness Ltd and Ashburton Cookery School indicate that the SME economy is moving towards being more experience led. Little Pickers, a supplier of hospitality services to the music industry, funded in just over two days despite being a relatively curveball proposition for most investors.

Campaigns are closing faster

Campaigns are now funding in a matter of days, rather than weeks – notably, 36&5 raised £90,000 in just a few hours. As a result of this many businesses are increasing their funding requirements in order to accommodate for increased demand from investors, as well as to allow themselves extra finance to grow their businesses. [1] 3900% represents growth of the total number of businesses funding in Q1 2017 vs Q1 2017. 4700% represent the total growth of funds transacted on the platform in Q1 2017 vs Q1 2017

International payments service FairFX shares jump on strong results

Miranda Wadham
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International payments service FairFX shares jump on strong results
International payments service FairFX (LON:FFX) saw shares rise nearly 6 percent in early morning trade, after revenue grew over 30 percent to £2.6 million. The company, who provide pre-paid currency cards for international payments, saw a 32.9 percent increase in transactions processed in the first quarter of 2017. 80,802 new customers were added to the business in the full year to 31st December 2016, bringing the total for the year to 588,192. International payments turnover rose 27.9 percent for the quarter to £107.2 million, with the corporate side of the business seeing an impressive 103.3 percent growth in turnover. Ian Strafford-Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, said the company had a “very successful 2016”, “beating expectations in terms of all KPI’s, with turnover increasing strongly, revenue breaking through the GBP10 million barrier and improved margins boosting gross profit.” “FairFX also made big strides towards profitability, with the loss for the year more than halved compared to 2015 and profitable trading achieved in the final quarter of the year”, Strafford-Taylor continued. Looking towards 2017, he said: “With the continuation of the Company’s strategy to maintain momentum in the retail product, whilst successfully growing the corporate offering, the board is confident that the outlook for the full year remains in line with market expectations.” Shares in FairFX are currently up 5.80 percent to 59.25 (0854GMT).

UK Retail Sales fall the most in seven years

Raymond Jones
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UK Retail Sales fall the most in seven years
The UK economy was dealt a severe blow in March as retail sales fell 1.8%, the biggest drop in seven years. Not only was the drop the biggest since 2010, it capped the weakest quarter since 2013. “This is the first time we’ve seen a quarterly decline since 2013, and it seems to be a consequence of price increases across a whole range of sectors,” said the ONS. Inflation is being blamed for the drop in consumer activity as the rising cost of everyday goods is reducing household spending power. “Families are facing the fastest rise in living costs for over three years and they are reining in their spending rapidly,” Richard Lim, of the Retail Economics consultancy said to Reuters. The large drop suggests economic weakness could be finally creeping in after the UK remained robust after the decision to leave the UK last June. In a immediate reaction, the pound fell 40 pips against the dollar before recovering.

Premier League revenues soar – but clubs still struggle to profit

Miranda Wadham
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0
Premier League revenues soar – but clubs still struggle to profit
Premier League football clubs saw revenues reach record highs last season, but still recorded some of the biggest losses in their history. Revenues reach £3.6 billion in 2015-16 season, with the two Manchester clubs’ revenues alone increasing by a total of £160 million. However, according to figures from Deloitte, the 20 Premier League English teams still made a pre-tax loss of £110 million. Balance books were hit by increased player expenditure, operating costs and one-off charges, with the report noting that wage costs increased by 12 percent to £2.3 billion over the period.

Dan Jones, head of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said:

“Manchester United’s participation in the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League, coupled with continued strong commercial revenue growth, resulted in a 30 percent increase in revenue to 515m pounds. This saw them top the Deloitte Football Money League for the first time since 2003-04, as the world’s highest revenue-generating club,” Jones said.

“Increased distributions to clubs competing in Europe, under the new UEFA broadcast rights cycle – notably Manchester City, who reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League – also contributed to Premier League clubs’ revenue growth,” he added.

18 of the 20 clubs made a operating profit, with just 12 clubs making a pre-tax profit. Overall revenues are set to rise going into the next season, with a new television deal with Sky and BT worth a record £5.136 billion for live Premier League TV rights over three seasons.

Action Hotel shares dive 12pc as delays and Middle East uncertainty bites

Miranda Wadham
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0
Action Hotel shares dive 12pc as delays and Middle East uncertainty bites
Shares in Action Hotels (LON:AHCG) took a serious hit on Thursday, falling over 12 percent as delayed hotel openings disappoint investors. The company reported revenue in-line with expectations, up around 22 percent to approximately $53.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 16 percent to approximately $18.5 million, with the value of Action Hotels’ hotel assets increasing by 15 percent to $458 million. However, the group said had unexpected delays on new hotel openings, saying: “As is typical in many development companies, Action Hotels experienced some unforeseen delays in opening dates of some of its new hotels and this has negatively impacted revenue resulting in a level that is materially below market expectations.” It also added that due to the company being in an accelerated growth and development phase, an “overall net loss before tax position is expected as a result of the impact of pre-opening costs of the new hotels, finance costs and depreciation and amortisation.” Whilst trading in the first quarter of 2017 remained solid, with total revenue up around 14 percent, the company remains “mindful of adverse pressure on the hotel sector across the Middle East”. Alain Debare, Action Hotels CEO said: “We are pleased to update the market on our performance which has been robust across the Action Hotels portfolio. We remain focused on driving performance at our operating hotels and our growth reflects the strong contribution from our mature hotel portfolio, as well as the encouraging success of our newest hotels as they gain traction in their respective markets. We have a good pipeline of hotels in development and are on track to complete an additional three hotels this year.” Investors appeared not to be reassured by the group’s statement, with shares falling 11.96 percent to 40.50 (0933GMT).

Global economy set to grow, says IMF

Miranda Wadham
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Global economy set to grow, says IMF
The pace of global economic growth is rising, according to a new report from the International Monetary Fund, with growth forecasts upped from 3.1 percent in 2016 to 3.5 percent this year. Writing in the IMF’s new World Economic Outlook, Maurice Obstfeldt said “we could be at a turning point”, adding that the IMF sees buoyant financial markets and “a long awaited cyclical recovery in manufacturing and trade”. The UK’s economy is likely to grow by 2 percent this year, according to the report, with stronger growth than any of the major developed economies apart from the US despite the threat of a Brexit-related slowdown. This figure is only slightly below what the IMF predicted a year ago, ahead of the EU referendum. However, the IMF report does indicate several possible threats facing the economy, including “pressures for inward looking policies in the advanced economies”. Protectionist policies represent a large problem to economic growth, with Mr Obstfeldt saying: “Capitulating to those pressures would result in a self-inflicted wound, leading to higher prices for consumers and businesses, lower productivity, and therefore, lower overall real income for households.”
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