UK house prices rise again as homebuyers seek outdoor space

Liam Roche
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UK house prices rise again as homebuyers seek outdoor space

The average price of a UK home now stands at more than £338,000

The average price of UK homes coming to the market increased by 0.7% between the middle of June and early July, compared to the month before.

It is the biggest rise in UK house prices for the time of year since 2007, despite the stamp duty holiday being scaled back, according to data from Rightmove.

The average price of a UK home now stands at more than £338,000, an increase of more than £21,000 over the past six months.

The price surge has come about thanks to a number of factors. First, people are demanding larger properties with outdoor space as they are spending more and more time at home. There is also a narrowing of supply on properties following an extended hot-run thanks in part to the government’s stamp duty holiday.

While the housing boom has supported the UK economy during a downturn, it has also exacerbated wealth inequality between those who own homes and those who don’t.

Properties with four bedrooms and above are seeing the biggest imbalance in supply and demand, while homes with two bedrooms and fewer had an unchanged number of new sellers.

John Eastgate, Managing Director of Property Finance at Shawbrook Bank, commented: “The exceptional times in which we find ourselves makes any analysis of short term movements in house prices more than challenging. Extreme demand, extreme stimulus and a dearth of supply have created a unique scenario.”

“But if we look longer term, history shows us that the housing market has a long-term pattern of strength and resilience. While the ending of lockdown and the Stamp Duty Holiday will naturally lead to a slowdown in activity levels, a supply/demand imbalance and continued commitment to move from buyers will help to ride out any significant drop-off in activity.”

Freedom Day gives no cause for celebration for the FTSE 100

Liam Roche
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0
Freedom Day gives no cause for celebration for the FTSE 100

Freedom Day, 19 July, is finally here, but the UK stock market is not in a celebratory mood. The FTSE 100 is down by 1.94% during the morning session 6,872.38, well below the 7,000 mark it worked so hard to get above earlier this year.

“There is no ticker tape parade, cheers from the rooftops or people dancing in the streets as Freedom Day finally comes,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Many of the stocks leading the UK stock market downwards are related to travel and leisure, suggesting that investors are extremely worried that we’ve lifted restrictions too soon and that another lockdown could be a month or two round the corner,” Mould added.

Covid is on the rise again and air travel firms, restaurants and other leisure companies may not get the positive summer period they have been crossing their fingers for. “The fact Cineworld is down 8%, Carnival falling 7% and Restaurant Group 4% implies that investors think the reopening trade is now a dud,” said Mould.

While many have been vaccinated, they are also finding out that the jab does not make them invincible, as cases begin to rise, or people are getting told to go into isolation.

“Pictures from UK airports would suggest some increase in flying but certainly nowhere near the levels one might have expected a few months ago. Then, everyone was talking about their big plans to celebrate once Freedom Day came around, and now it’s proved to be a damp squib.”

“The big concern for the market is whether we going to see a slowdown in the global economic recovery, and this could be the overriding force which results in a bad period for equities in the weeks ahead.”

FTSE 100 Top Movers

It’s never good news when only a handful for of companies are in the green. Today, on a dismal day for the FTSE 100, 3i Group, up 0.19%, is the only riser.

At the bottom end of the index out of the other 99 companies, Rolls-Royce (-4.25%), St James’s Place (-3.97%) and Glencore (-3.75%) are the top fallers on the FTSE 100.

Edison Group confirms senior appointments to drive technology and ESG expansion

Liam Roche
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0
Edison Group confirms senior appointments to drive technology and ESG expansion

Edison Group continues its expansion following a successful year

Edison Group, the international research and investor relations consultancy, confirmed on Monday that it has hired Paul Miller as CTO and Kelly Perry as head of ESG Client Services.

Paul Miller specialises in technology solutions, data management, e-commerce, and business process improvements, as well as founding a selling a number of companies. Miller has also consulted for and advised various companies undergoing technology transformations.

Miller’s role will involve overseeing the technology side of the company as it undergoes its own digital transformation, Edison said in a statement today.

Paul Miller, CTO, Edison Group, commented: “In today’s market, technology is at the cornerstone of any business. For a company like Edison, it is critical to ensure clients, readers, and other stakeholders are able to access the valuable market information they need in a timely manner, all the while making all the internal processes as efficient and smooth as possible.”

Kelly Perry joined Edison from the London Stock Exchange, where she focused on privates markets fundraising, in addition to being a member of WIN (Women inspired Network).

Before her time at the London Stock Exchange, Perry worked at Cowen and Company, leading Corporate Access across the US and Europe. She is also actively engaged with the CFA Institute ‘ESG Investing’ programme.

The appointment of Kelly Perry to head of ESG Client Services falls closely with Edison Group’s continued expansion and focus on its ESG offering.

In her role, Kelly will lead the firm’s efforts to commercialise ESG solutions and integrate them across existing Research and Investor Relations, Edison said in a statement on Monday.

Kelly Perry, Head of ESG Client Services, Edison Group said: “ESG is the fastest growing area of Capital Markets, with ESG funds on track to hold more assets under management than their non-ESG counterparts by 2025. Rapidly becoming one of the most important factors for companies when engaging with investors.”

“As scrutiny around ESG shows no sign of slowing, financial market participants will continue to hold sustainability at the centre of their decision making,” Perry added.

Morrisons testing new concept of store with no tills

Liam Roche
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0
Morrisons testing new concept of store with no tills

The Morrisons store is portable and can be transported to other locations

Morrisons (LON:MRW), the British supermarket chain, has opened a shop without tills, where customers can pick up their shopping and walk out with no assistance.

The store is a test of a new concept being developed by the supermarket, based close by to its head office in Bradford. The company has plans to open additional stores across the UK in due course.

Shoppers are able to go into the store once they have scanned their key on a special Morrisons app.

Digital cameras then track shoppers, identifying which items they put into their bags, and then charge their account accordingly.

As of now, the shop is a mini-version of a Morrisons store and is portable, meaning it can be transported to another location in a large vehicle.

This feature is especially useful as it means the stores can be set-up quickly and disassembled in not easily accessible areas, including university campuses or train stations.

It has been reported that a trial a version of the store that is available to the public will appear before the end of the year.

Amazon, earlier this year has opened a till-less grocery store in London, its first “just walk out” shop outside of America.

Morrisons remains in the middle of a takeover attempt as there is competition among leading private equity companies to acquire the supermarket.

The business consists of just under 500 stores and over 110,000 employees across the UK.

Shanta Gold cuts output guidance for 2021

Liam Roche
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0
Shanta Gold cuts output guidance for 2021

Shanta Gold says it remains on track to become a mid-tier gold producer in Africa

Shanta Gold (AIM:SHG), the East Africa-focused gold producer, announced its production and operational results for the quarter ended 30 June 2021 on Monday.

The update is regarding its East African assets, including New Luika Gold Mine (NLGM) and Singida Project in Tanzania and West Kenya Project in Kenya.

Shanta Gold cut its production guidance for the current year due to lower output in Q2 and a revised operating plan.

However, it also said it remains on track to become a mid-tier gold producer in Africa.

The company’s gold production of 14,201 ounces, down from 14,641 ounces in Q1, was restricted by lower than anticipated grades from underground mining.

Its annual production guidance for 2021 has been revised to 60,000–65,000 ounces at AISC of $1,325–$1,375 per ounce.

In better news Shanta Gold completed the installation and ramp-up of it third mill at New Luika resulting in throughput of 2,450 tonnes per day being achieved by the end of the period, higher than anticipated.

On Monday the AIM-listed company also released a new five-year plan for its gold assets in Tanzania, including a reserves and resources update for NLGM.

Eric Zurrin, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We’ve had some real exploration success at Shanta Gold during 2021 leading to the positive five-year outlook that we’ve outlined this morning transforming us to a 110,000+ ounces gold producer by 2023. We’re proud and excited about this growth in our business and look forward to taking our investors on the journey with us over the next few years.”

“Whilst we are looking forward to the future, we are disappointed that we will be reducing this year’s production guidance to 60,000 – 65,000 oz. Whilst this is partly due to a deferral of ounces to 2022 onwards, it is not the outcome we hoped for this year. Our softer production for Q2 has also meant that our revenues have been slightly reduced for the quarter but we are pleased to confirm that we have received US$4.2 million in VAT offsets as we work with the Tanzanian government to clear the outstanding balance.”

New premium listing: Seraphine

Andrew Hore
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0
New premium listing: Seraphine

Although maternity wear supplier Seraphine Group operates its own shops, it is predominantly an online business. This is an international business covering more than 120 countries. Europe accounts for two-fifths of sales, the majority in the UK, and North America more than one-quarter.  
Management believes that growth can continue to be rapid. Medium-term online percentage growth rates are expected to be in mid-twenties, which is lower than previously but still impressive.
Seraphine plans to pay a dividend of between 20% and 40% of adjusted post-tax profit. There will be a final dividend...

New AIM admission: Orcadian Energy

Andrew Hore
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New AIM admission: Orcadian Energy

Orcadian Energy has a highly experienced management team that has worked at BP and LASMO among others, and they intend to build the company into a major viscous oil producer.
The cash raised in the placing will help Orcadian to secure a farm-out or find some other way of financing the Pilot field. There are also plans to acquire seismic data. A field development plan is required.
The shares started trading at 42.5p and ended the first week at 41.5p. On the first two days there were 810,540 shares traded.
Development is still at an early stage and much more cash will be required to commercialis...

New AIM admission: Lendinvest

Andrew Hore
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0
New AIM admission: Lendinvest

Property finance asset manager Lendinvest has floated so that it can continue to increase its funds under management and particularly its platform assets under management. A greater proportion of platform assets are likely to be lower risk with longer durations. There will also be further investment in technology.
Management believes it can double underlying EBITDA margin and grow underlying EBITDA by up to five times over the medium-term. Greater efficiency will help with this target.
The ambition is funds under management of more than £5bn in 2023-24 with a greater proportion from institutio...

Argo Blockchain share price jumps on rumours of second listing on Nasdaq

Liam Roche
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Argo Blockchain share price jumps on rumours of second listing on Nasdaq

Argo Blockchain Share Price

The Argo Blockchain share price (LON:ARB) is surging on Friday following a prolonged slump that began in the middle of February. As rumours circulated on Twitter that Argo Blockchain will go ahead with a secondary listing on the Nasdaq, the bitcoin miner’s share price climbed, and is now up by 18.32% at the time of writing.

Secondary Listing

Bitcoin mining firm Argo Blockhain, listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) at present, is weighing up a secondary listing on Nasdaq.

The London-based miner revealed the plan Tuesday, adding that no decision has been made whether to go ahead. The company said that “there is no guarantee that the listing will be finalized,” while, “any proposed listing is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the proposed listing may be completed.”

Argo also confirmed it mined 167 bitcoin last month, up by one from May.

https://twitter.com/DocumentingBTC/status/1412894379333890049?s=20

Bitcoin

It is no secret that bitcoin has been struggling to regain momentum following a crash that happened in May. Investors in the Argo Blockchain share price will be hoping for better news for the cryptocurrency following the Chinese government crack down which helped its price to tumble. Bitcoin dropped below £23,000 on Friday morning before climbing back above the mark into the afternoon.

One piece of news that could act as a catalyst for a surge in the price of bitcoin is Apple announcing that it is buying the cryptocurrency. Similar to talks of a second listing on the Nasdaq, rumours have been aplenty on social media regarding a potential announcement by Apple that it is holding bitcoin. However, at this stage, while there have been no official statements, it is mere speculation.

Having said that, Apple has previously posted a vacancy requiring a business development manager who can handle ‘alternative payments’. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak referred to bitcoin as digital gold and said it was a ‘mathematical miracle’. He also said that while he does not invest in it, he considers it to be the future.

Investors will keeping a close eye on how Apple, and other major corporations approach bitcoin in the coming months. Any major moves could further impact the Argo Blockchain share price.

Cineworld share price surges on short squeeze

Liam Roche
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0
Cineworld share price surges on short squeeze

Cineworld Share Price

The Cineworld share price (LON:CINE) soared on Friday in a move that looks to be straight out of the AMC playbook. In the middle of the afternoon session on Friday, as the week draws to a close, the Cineworld share price is up by 9.53% to 62.78p per share. It follows a torrid month for the cinema chain which saw its share price tumble. At the time of writing, the Cineworld share price is down by 28% since the beginning of July. It appears as though the dramatic moves over recent weeks have been a result of short selling from major investors followed by a response from Reddit-type short squeezers.

Short Selling

It has been reported that 7.5% of Cineworld shares are being held in short positions by large investment companies. Short shellers have likely been attracted to Cineworld because of its significant debt of $8.3bn, as concerns remain over the strength of the recovery from the pandemic, and the cinema chain’s ability to cope.

However, the dramatic fall in the stock’s value caught the attention of other investors who have been able to buy Cineworld shares at a cut price. The mass buying also appears to be an effort to squeeze on the major investment managers, in a similar vain to previous Reddit-induced shorts.

Analysts’ View

Earlier this week Peel Hunt, the specialist for UK investment banking, confirmed its is maintaining its ‘hold’ recommendation. However, it did reduce its price target by 10p to 75p per share.

“The Cineworld share price has drifted off since the highs of March, when it reached 120p, more sharply recently,” Peel Hunt said.

While the cinema has performed reasonably well in the US and UK as restrictions have been lifted, the precariosuness of the recovery remains an issue, as does the threat of streaming services to the industry.

Investors will be keeping an eye on the Cineworld share price over the coming days to see which way things go.

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