14/06/2016
Higher cost of living spells trouble for the pub sector
A higher cost of living, combined with more expensive student loans and cultural changes, are expected to impact on the profitability of the UK pub sector in the short term, according to the latest report by Fitch Ratings.
The report sees Fitch’s outlook for the UK pub sector remaining negative, driven by ongoing structural decline. Financially pressed 18-35 year olds may continue to curtail UK pubs’ revenues over the medium term, with factors such as rising student loans and higher rent making drinking out less affordable. The rise of craft beer companies have also led to a decrease in the quantities consumed in mainstream pubs, especially by millennials.
Internal aspects, including the rise of the Living Wage, are expected to put pressure on pubs’ profitability, possibly leading to job losses as companies try to limit their expenditure. Similarly, the recent overall decline of on-trade sales and total alcohol consumption over the longer term, as well as the the MRO announced in March 2015 and the EU referendum in June 2016, are likely to make an impact.
Morning Round-Up: Ted Baker results strong, gun company shares jump, oil set to balance
Ted Baker beats competition with impressive results
Shares in British clothing company Ted Baker (LON:TED) have risen over 2 percent this morning after disclosing strong earnings for the 19 weeks to June 11.
Revenue rose by 11.3 percent and sales were up 12.7 percent, with demand strong both online and in stores; several new store openings led store space to increase by 9.7 percent, with online trading jumping by 32.3 percent.
According to analysts, this set of figures puts Ted Baker well above competitors and paves the way for the company to meet full-year expectations of 12 percent to 15 percent profit growth.
Shares in gun companies jump on US shooting
Shares in US gun companies rose on Monday after an attack on a gay nightclub in Florida, killing 49 people and becoming the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
Smith & Wesson shares rose 6.9 percent, with Sturm, Ruger and Company finishing up 8.5 percent. Shares are wont to rise after a mass-shooting, with worries over impending gun law changes increasing the sales of weapons. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the US, gunman Omar Mateen legally obtained both a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and a .223 caliber AR rifle in Florida within the last 10 days. Oil supply and demand set to balance in second half of 2016 Oil supply and demand is set to balance in the second half of 2016, according to the International Energy Agency on Tuesday. After a series of unplanned production outages surplus will fall, but may rise again in the first half of next year with demand growth remaining largely flat at 1.3 million barrels per day. In its monthly report, the IEA said: “We expect to see global oil stocks build slightly in the first half of 2017 before falling slightly more in the second half of 2017. For the year as a whole, there will be a very small stock draw of 0.1 million bpd. “At halfway in 2016, the oil market looks to be balancing; but we must not forget that there are large volumes of shut-in production, mainly in Nigeria and Libya, that could return to the market, and the strong start for oil demand growth seen this year might not be maintained.”14/06/2016
Microsoft buys LinkedIn for $26.2bn
In a surprise deal, Microsoft has agreed to buy LinkedIn, the world’s biggest professional networking site for $26.2bn (£18.5bn) in cash.
The tech giant has agreed to pay $196 (£139) per share for the company, announcing the deal before the market opened on Wall Street and sending LinkedIn’s shares up 49% to $194.55 PMT. Microsoft’s shares fell by 4.2% to $51.48.
LinkedIn, which has over 430 million users worldwide, is a networking site that is designed for people to connect with other professionals and gain access to a range of job opportunities. Microsoft are hoping that the move will expand its reach into the professional networking area.
The deal is Microsoft’s biggest acquisition to date, beating the $8.5 billion Skype deal in 2011 look small in comparison. Microsoft have made clear that LinkedIn will “retain its distinct brand, culture and independence”; Jess Weiner, who will remain as LinkedIn’s chief executive, said the deal “gives us a chance to change the way the world works”
13/06/2016
FitBug Holdings sees revenue fall in 2015
FitBug Holdings PLC today announced that revenues for 2015 fell to to £1.259 million, with pre-tax loss doubling from its previous year to £6.303 million.
The digital ‘health and well-being’ company unveiled a turnaround strategy to its ‘business-to-business’ (B2B) market after a failed buyer-to-consumer (B2C) strategy caused ‘unsustainable’ losses. The company was also hit by high legal costs, totalling £594,000.
However, trading in the first quarter of 2016 was encouraging, with sales in the Corporate Wellness sector increasing‘significantly’ over like-for-like sales in Q1 2015.
Anna Gudmundson, the group’s new chief executive appointed to address the ‘unsustainable situation’, commented:
“Recognising that the previous direct consumer retail focus failed to deliver the commercial results anticipated, we have identified an attractive opportunity within the growing B2B corporate wellness market.”
Gudmundson’s appointment sparked a move away from the company’s familiar strategy towards a move into the corporate sector – Fitbit has seen significant interest from organisations hoping to use the technology to engage their employees in a healthier, fitter lifestyle”
“On a corporate level we have strengthened our board and management team to ensure we have the requisite skill set for growth, implemented a number of cost saving initiatives, and undertaken a thorough review of our operations to ensure we are maximising efficiencies,” Gudmundson continued.
FitBug (LON:FITB) was trading at 0.510 – 24.44% at 11.29am BST.
13/06/16
G4S shares tumble on news that Florida gunman was employee
Shares in security firm G4S have tumbled over 5 percent this morning on news that the gunman who shot 50 people at a nightclub in Florida on Saturday was an employee.
The discovery has wiped £200 million off the value of the world’s largest security firm, where Omar Mateen has worked since 2007. Mateen had undergone company screening as recently as 2013 with no issues being found, and carried a gun as part of his duties as an armed security officer.
Shares in the London-based company fell over 6.5 percent this morning, before recovering a little. They are currently trading down 5.8 percent at 176.38.
This news is the latest in a string of scandals for the company, which is 2012 made headlines by failing to provide enough security guards for the London 2012 Olympics. Earlier this year, the company also took a 6£5 million charge on loss-making British government contracts.
13/06/2016
Carbon Dynamic beats crowdfunding target to help solve UK wide housing issue
Carbon Dynamic, an award winning innovative low energy construction company creating affordable and low energy buildings, has beaten its crowdfunding target of £80,000 on Crowd2Fund.com.
The business, first established in 2012 by founder Matthew Stevenson, is the only modular manufacturer currently based in Scotland. The company’s modular design approach subdivides a system into smaller parts which can be independently created; a more sustainable, and cheaper, solution to housing building. The company also have the advantage of being able to build properties within a lead time of just four weeks, and have residents being able to move into them five days after completion.
In 2015 Carbon Dynamic won an Edge Award, recognising it one of Scotland’s most promising startup companies. After Stevenson’s training at the Royal College of Art in Fine Art and Sculpture, with a special focus on architectural shapes and new materials, he was inspired to start the company and completely reengineer the way buildings are designed and built. The company now plan to use the funds to introduce a number of new innovative processes to scale up demand, in order to help solve the housing crisis, with the UK currently needing a extra one million new homes a year.
Stevenson says: “We are concluding the implementation of our Design for Manufacturing and Assembly systems and processes, and we will use some of the funds to enable the full integration of DFMA across the business. The remaining funds will be use to bolster our working capital position in order to help service the £12m of projects in our sales pipeline.”
Carbon Dynamic’s crowdfunding campaign beat its initial target of £80,000, and raised £87,000 in total from 50 different investors, who will now benefit from 9% APR. It was the first campaign on Crowd2Fund.com to benefit from being included as part of the IFISA. All of the investors used this mechanism to place their funds, and will benefit from tax free interest growth.
Carbon Dynamic choose to raise their debut funds due to crowdfunding due to Crowd2Fund.com offering a direct and innovative approach:
“We are innovative in everything that we do and traditional or conventional approaches are often not where we can provide or achieve best value,” said Stevenson.
“The crowdfunding approach is about engagement and being able to demonstrate uniqueness and core values as commercial strengths, which better suits us than the more conventional approach offered by banks.”
For more information and details on how to invest, visit their campaign page here. 
Miranda Wadham on 13/06/2016
Morning Round-Up: Pound plunges, Asian shares sink, rent across the UK soars
Pound plunges in the run-up to referendum
The British pound plunged to an eight-week low on Monday as latest polls show a swing towards Brexit.
The British pound lost another 0.3 percent in Asia, falling to $1.4200, after plummeting 1.4 percent on Friday and hitting a three-year low against the yen.
Brexit concerns continue to weigh, as well as Saturday’s mass shooting in Orlando and its impact on the presidential race having an effect on the dollar.
Worst day in four months for Asian shares
Asian shares had their worst day in nearly four months on Monday, with both the NIkkei 225 and the Shanghai Composite finishing down over 3 percent.
A rise in the yen had a negative effect on the Japanese markets, having a knock-on effect on large export companies, sending its benchmark index down 3.5 percent. Meetings by both the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan later this week both weigh.
A recent spate of poor economic data from Japan has also highlighted the difficulties Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has had with repowering the country’s weak economy, which has been subject to years of heavy stimulus to little discernible effect. Rents soar to over half of workers’ income, says Countrywide Renting a one-bedroom property in the UK now costs over half of young workers’ take-home pay, according to new data from property firm Countrywide. In London, the figure has risen from 41 percent to 57 percent of the monthly wages of the average worker under 30 since 2007. The average rent on a one-bed property in the capital was £1,133 in May. In comparison, the lowest rents are found in the Midlands, where workers spend a third of their take-home pay. And alarmingly, the report shows that rents are still rising. Countrywide’s analysis of all new lets showed landlords have increased prices by 2.9 percent since May 2015, with those coming up for renewal increasing by 5.2 percent. Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide, commented: “Many tenants have adapted to rising prices by either moving to cheaper areas, further from the centre, or sharing. Stalling rental growth in the capital raises the question whether London’s rents have reached their affordability limits for now.”13/06/2016
German and UK bond yields sink to record low
German bond yields have sunk to a record low as investors turn away from equities in the run-up to a possible Brexit.
Benchmark 10-year German bund yields hit a low of 0.0021 percent, with UK bonds following suit; the yield on the UK’s 10-year gilt also dropped below 1.25 percent for the first time.
Analysts see a drop in bond yields as a “pessimistic” sign and a warning that investors are anticipating a prolonged downturn in the economy. The upcoming Brexit vote, as well as a weakening in China’s economy and weaker than expected US jobs figures are likely having an impact on investor sentiment.
Morning Round-Up: Line to IPO in New York, job losses in oil soar, Tesco sells assets
Japanese messenger Line to be 2016’s biggest tech IPO
Japanese instant messaging service Line is planning expansion into the US, aiming to list shares in both Tokyo and New York.
The listing, planning for next month, is looking to raise more than $900 million; potentially making it the largest technology IPO of the year The app launched in 2011 and is currently the most popular messaging service in Japan, Thailand and Taiwan. Through its expansion, it hopes to compete with big players Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. Job losses in oil to hit 120,000 Job losses in the UK oil and gas industry are expected to hit 120,000 by the end of the year as low oil prices continue to bite. The latest report from Oil & Gas UK estimated 84,000 jobs linked to the industry went in 2015, with 40,000 losses expected this year. Jobs in the sector peaked in 2014 at 450,000, but since then have fallen dramatically and are likely to fall to 330,000 by the end of 2016. The price of Brent crude has halved, currently trading at around $50 a barrel – up from lows of $30.10/06/2016
Hedging against Brexit? Invest in gold
Polls leaning towards an Exit from the European Union have led to an increase in appetite for gold bullion, with demand for the safe-haven metal spiking.
The latest online polls from ICM and YouGov showed the Leave campaign had taken a 4-5 percentage point lead ahead of this month’s referendum, panicking investors. Ross Norman, chief executive of Mayfair gold showroom Sharps Pixley, told Reuters: “It seems to have sunk into people’s consciousness that Brexit is a real possibility now. All stocks are being bought out in advance of even being shipped.”
The UK gold dealer The Pure Gold Company is another gold merchant to have seen an increase in interest, with enquiries to buy gold bars up 19 percent over the weekend compared to last week. Investing in gold can involve buying into a range of products, from 1 gram bars for less than 50 pounds to kilobars priced at more than £28,000.
Gold has also been in demand for other reasons of late, trading at a three-week high after the European Central Bank announced further positive measures, alongside the prospect of lower US rates for longer. The ECB entered a corporate bond buying programme earlier this week, buying the debt of some of the continent’s biggest companies, with disappointing US jobs figures making a rate hike unlikely at this months meeting.
09/06/2016