01/02/2016
Good time for BT as revenue growth soars on EE deal
Telecoms group BT posted its best revenue growth in seven years on Monday, just days after the completion of a takeover deal which renders it’s the UK’s largest telecoms provider.
BT announced that it would undergo a restructuring to incorporate EE, creating a new division to serve businesses and the public sector. BT’s share price rose again today on the news, and is currently up 2.54 percent (0924GMT).
Chief Executive Gavin Patterson called it an “exciting time” for the group, saying that it had had a “stand out quarter, increasing its overall line base for the first time in well over a decade”.
BT’s share price also climbed on Friday after the announcement that it’s takeover of EE, the mobile service provider, had been completed. The deal was uncertain for a while after several other large telecoms groups expressed competition concerns. Whilst some predict the demise of the EE brand, for the time being BT are insistent that it will remain.
the BT group will now serve around 10 million households, providing a mixture of broadband, telephone, TV and mobile services under a variety of brands.
US economy sees large slowdown in fourth quarter
The US economy saw a sharp slowdown in the fourth quarter, with GDP growth slowing significantly alongside weak export figures.
Gross domestic oroduct grew 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, a significant decline from the 2 percent growth in the third quarter. Consumer spending also slowed, affected by an unseasonably warm winter, with a strong dollar and lack of demand having an impact on US exports.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, who recently took the decision to raise interest rates for the first time in a decade, acknowledged that growth had slowed, but insisted that “labour market conditions” improved. Though the Fed’s original plans was to continue raising rates slowly, recent market volatility is likely to weigh in on the decision.
29/01/2016
Japan slashes interest rates into sub-zero territory
The Bank of Japan shocked markets on Friday by lowering the benchmark interest rate into negative territory, as part of their effort to stimulate their faltering economy.
Governor of the Bank of japan Haruhiko Kuroda told a news conference: “What’s important is to show people that the BOJ is strongly committed to achieving 2 percent inflation and that it will do whatever it takes to achieve it.”
Japan has long been battling deflation and economic difficulties, which are likely to be worsened by China’s downhill slide. However, Kuroda confirmed that the country was well on its way to recovery, and that the sub-zero internet rate move was the next logical step.
Markets around the world jumped upon hearing the news, the first positive piece on information for a while. The FTSEurofirst 300 was up 1.2 percent, after a 1.7 percent fall yesterday, and the MSCI index rose 0.5 percent. However, the yen fell on the news, with the dollar up 0.4 percent.
Crowd2Fund offer investment opportunity in artisan ice cream La Gelatiera
Healthy London-based artisan ice cream maker La Gelatiera, winner of two Golden Fork awards and four UK Top 50 Foods at Great Taste Awards, are expanding and offering the public an opportunity to invest through a crowdfunding campaign.
The company offers its own modern take on the age-old delicacy of ice cream making and combines the owners family heritage of artisanal gelato making with their slow food ethic, incorporating healthy seasonal ingredients into their creations. La Gelatiera was co-founded by Antonia Parisi and Stephene Leyvraz, who grew bored of working in the corporate world and set up the business instead. Parisi, whose grandfather made gelato in Italy, is carrying on a family tradition, and the shop’s original recipes were based on his grandfather’s creations. Freshness and healthiness are key factors in the creation of their product range; all ice creams are produced daily, with 100% natural ingredients, and the company exclusively uses un-homogenised organic Jersey Cow milk from dairies in Somerset. Additionally, they are very transparent about their supply chain and where their ingredients are procured from.
Following the success of the gelato shop, opened in 2011 in Covent Garden La Gelatiera are now planning to expand their operations to open up a second retail outlet. They are planning to raise the funds to open and launch the second shop by seeking a £40,000 revenue loan (with a 9.5% APR) on Crowd2Fund.com. The funds will be used to launch and market a second London based shop, increase the size of the kitchen, and help scale up the business to serve growing demand business customers.
The company is seeking financing through the crowd, as it provides an opportunity to reach and engage with their enthusiastic customer base. Parisi says, “Using Crowd2Fund is a great way to reach out to our existing brand ambassadors as well as new customers. The loan will go towards our expansion of the brand, by opening a new shop in the Olympic village in Stratford, as well as allowing us to grow revenues by selling to supermarkets and to businesses.”
For more information, visit their campaign page here.
UK economic growth slowest for three years
Britain’s economy ended 2015 at its slowest pace of growth for nearly three years, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Fourth-quarter gross domestic product grew by 0.5 percent, up slightly from 0.4 percent in the three months to September but setting the annual figure at 2.2 percent; a considerable fall from last year’s growth of 2.9 percent. According to the International Monetary Fund Britain is set to retain this rate of growth throughout 2016 and 2017, one of the highest rates amongst advanced economies.
Output figures were stronger, with growth in the three months to December 1.9 percent higher than a year earlier, but down from 2.1 percent in the third quarter. These figures are the latest in a string of evidence that global economies are facing a difficult period, that may well continue throughout 2016.
28/01/2016
US rates remain unchanged as economy slows
The US Federal Reserve decided against raising interest rates further, citing the month’s global slowdown and saying that it would continue “closely monitoring” economic conditions.
US exports have fallen because of the strengthening dollar, and crises in China in January led to volatility on Wall Street. Due to this, the Fed held interest rates between 0.25% and 0.5%, after raising them for the first time in nearly a decade in December. In a statement, they said that “the committee is closely monitoring global economic and financial developments and is assessing their implications for the labour market and inflation.” Policymakers indicated that they were reluctant to abandon a plan to tighten monetary policy this year, saying that the economy was still on track for moderate growth and a stronger labor market even with “gradual” rate increases. Another rise in March has not been ruled out. In reaction to the news, Asian shares rose slightly on Thursday and oil prices fell back after climbing in the previous session.28/01/2016
Facebook soars after tenth quarter of growth
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) shares soared in after hours trading on Thursday, after an increase in mobile advertising saw it double fourth quarter profits.
The social networking site hit 1.59 billion users on Thursday and shocked Wall Street with a tenth consecutive quarter of growth. Its 2015 fourth quarter revenue was at $5.841 billion, with $0.79 earnings per share. These figures mean quarter on quarter growth was up 29.8%, up 51% on the same period last year.
The company also said that 80% of its advertising revenue in that period came from mobile advertising, up from 69% a year earlier.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who returned to work on Monday after two months of paternity leave, commented that 2015 was a “great year for Facebook”, saying “our community continued to grow and our business is thriving.”
Facebook’s growth strategy relies heavily on monetizing the developing world, more than tripling its revenue from the area over the last four years. Despite these users being on slow connections, old smartphones and not having much buying power, Facebook has convinced advertisers to pay to target them.
Facebook shares were up 12.12 percent in after hours trading.
28/01/2016
Is this the end of Apple’s growth?
Tech giant Apple ( NASDAQ:AAPL) has reported its slowest growth in iPhone sales since the product’s launch in 2007, a sign that the company’s exponential growth may be coming to an end.
Apple sold 74.8 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter, compared with 74.5 million a year ago and reported that revenue for the next quarter would be around $53billion, below the $58 billion of last year.
The company said they had felt repercussions from the weakening of the Chinese economy, with demand slowing in one of their largest markets, with Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri telling Reuters in an interview:
“As we move into the March quarter it’s becoming more apparent that there are some signs of economic softness. We are starting to see something that we have not seen before.” The company’s shares have fallen 5 percent this year, and were volatile in after hours trading last night. They have since steadied, and the company is now trading up 0.55 percent at 96.61 (1107GMT).RBS shares fall on £2.5bn profit hit
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (LON:RBS) saw shares fall this morning, after a trading update revealed that it would take an unexpected £2.5 billion hit to fourth quarter profits.
The profits were hit as more cash than expected was set aside for compensation and litigation costs surrounding mis-sold loan insurance, as well as an impairment charge at its private banking arm. RBS CEO Ross McEwan said in a statement:
“I am determined to put the issues of the past behind us and make sure RBS is a stronger, safer bank. We will now continue to move further and faster in 2016 to clean-up the bank and improve our core businesses. We’ve always been open about the scale of past issues facing RBS and although there is clearly much more to do, this announcement is a further step towards addressing legacy issues and building a great bank for our customers and delivering long term value for our shareholders.”
McEwan is in the process of turning the troubled lender around so that the government can sell more of its 73 percent stake in the Group, which it took after its near-collapse in 2008.
RBS shares fell nearly 3 percent just after open this morning, and is now trading down 2.67 percent at 254.60.
Politicians call on Osborne for explanation of Google tax deal
An increasing number of politicians are calling on Chancellor George Osborne to defend HM Revenue and Custom’s deal with Google over the amount of back-tax to be paid to the UK.
The deal, agreed last week after an “open audit” of Google’s accounts by the UK tax authorities, stands at £130 million and covers payment owed since 2005. However, many politicians have called that amount into question, suggesting that for the size and prominence of Google, it is a “very small number”.
European MPs have now entered the fray, demanding that Osborne explain how the figure was reached. French MEP Eva Joly said the settlement was “bad news for everybody”, and accused the UK of making itself into “a kind of tax haven to attract multinationals”.
HMRC has defended the deal, with a senior official insisting that it was collecting the “full tax due in law”.
Google is one of several multinational companies to be have been accused of avoiding tax, in spite of making billions of pounds of sales in Britain. Osborne has made moves to cut down on tax avoidance of multi-national companies, but has recently come under fire for this himself, after claims made in November that his family firm Osborne and Little, started by his father Sir Peter Osborne, has paid no UK corporation tax for seven years.
27/01/2016