FTSE 100 edges higher led by China-focused stocks

Liam Roche
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FTSE 100 edges higher led by China-focused stocks

The FTSE 100 is up by 0.25% on Friday, or by 14.9 points, to 7,034.57, led by China-focused stocks. HSBC, Burberry and Prudential all have major operations in China and made solid gains as the week draws to a close.

The Chinese economy remains on the path to recovery, despite some hiccups along the way. Albeit below expectations, retail sales in China rose by 17.7% in April compared to the month before as the country continues on its path to recovery. While online sales of consumer goods jumped by 23.1% during the first four months of the year compared to the year before. Urban unemployment fell to 5.1% in April, down from 5.3% in March.

Burberry has previously posted strong results from mainland China despite facing a backlash from authorities over its accusations of abuses in Xinjiang.

Burberry said its full-price sales rose 63% in the last quarter driven by mainland China, Korea and the United States.

“UK stocks have spent much of the past week trading sideways with a lack of real catalysts to push them firmly in either an upwards or downwards direction and today’s modest move higher for the FTSE 100 is very much in that vein,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“While the pound is at its highest level in three years against the dollar at $1.42, while the FTSE 250 and FTSE Small Cap indices, which have more of a domestic focus, have outperformed both the more globally-orientated FTSE 100 and some other major stock markets around the world, notably the technology-heavy Nasdaq index which had previously been on a supercharged run,” Mould added.

Whether this trend can be sustained may come down to the battle between vaccines and variants and if the UK can stick to a road map which would see nearly all coronavirus restrictions lifted in a little over three weeks’ time.

FTSE 100 Top Movers

Barratt Developments (2.68%), Taylor Wimpey (2.53%) and SSE (2.40%) are heading up the FTSE 100 at the midway stage of the morning session.

At the other end, Polymetal International (-2.77%), Antofagasta (-2.47%) and Sage Group (-1.8%), are keeping the index in check.

Curve secures nearly £10m in largest ever equity raise on Crowdcube

Liam Roche
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Curve secures nearly £10m in largest ever equity raise on Crowdcube

Curve fundraise easily surpassed the £6m raised during its 2019 crowdfund

Curve, the mobile payments app, has closed the largest ever equity raise on Crowdcube, smashing a number of records in the process.

The raise finished at 3pm on Thursday, hitting close to £10m in funding from a total of 11,795 investors.

Curve was the fastest company in history to raise £6m on Crowdtube, achieving the marker in under three hours as it went live on 25 May.

The fundraise easily surpassed the £6m raised during its 2019 crowdfund.

The recent campaign was aimed at ensuring Curve customers as well as retail investors follow in the path of some of technology’s leading institutional investors.

More than 4,000 retail investors took part in the first 60 minutes of the crowdfund, smashing Curve’s initial target of £1m within just 10 minutes of the round opening.

The funds raised this week follow the £132m Curve has raised in cash and capital commitments to-date to support its rapid growth, including the capital secured in the super app’s recent successful Series C, led by IDC Ventures, Fuel Venture Capital and Vulcan Capital. 

Curve will use the funds raised by crowdfunding and its recent Series C round to execute its ambitious growth strategy, focussed on its international expansion and product innovation. This strategy includes the rollout of its award-winning Curve OS platform in the US, broadening its European reach, and the forthcoming launch of Curve Credit in the UK, and in Europe.

Shachar Bialick, Founder and CEO of Curve, said: “Ever since our last crowdfund in 2019, our customers have been requesting another opportunity to take a share in Curve. So we launched this campaign to give the public a chance to join us as we embark on the next stage of our exciting journey, when we reveal Curve Credit to the world and launch in the US.”

“We’ve been blown away by the level of interest we’ve seen over the past three days, and I’m so excited to welcome nearly 12,000 investors on board.” 

EQTEC to raise funds to speed up rate of growth

Liam Roche
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EQTEC to raise funds to speed up rate of growth

EQTEC finance director Gerry Madden set to retire this year

EQTEC (LON:EQT), the gas company, will raise up to £15m via a share placing and subscription at 1.5p per share.

The AIM-listed company said the funds raised by the share issue will be allocated to supporting sustainable growth, entering new markets and enhancing the company’s capacity.

EQTEC outlined plans to take part in a settlement and termination agreement with Syngas Technology Engineering, whose owner is a director in the EQTEC board.

Syngas will be entitled to ongoing royalties on sales of EQTEC’s gasifier technology until the firm has received a max of €2.88m.

As of now Syngas has received €436,000 as part of the arrangement.

EQTEC has also confirmed that the company’s finance director Gerry Madden will retire. The firm has begun the process of finding a replacement, while Madden agreed to stay on during the transition process.

David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC commented: “Gerry has been with EQTEC for 14 years, since its predecessor company was a developer of clean energy projects. He has been a steadfast custodian of the business through multiple stages of its development and he leaves it in the best position of its history. Gerry was Finance Director at the initial admission of the Company in 2008 and served as CEO between 2011 and 2018, after which he resumed the role of Finance Director and Company Secretary.”

“He steered the Group through its start-up days, the credit crunch of 2008, the ensuing recession and on to the successful acquisition and integration of EQTEC Iberia. We thank Gerry for his loyalty, care and attention to the Group over the longest tenure of anyone in the company. In the future, we will look forward to receiving his advice and in wishing him a well-deserved retirement.”

The EQTEC share price is down by 7.4% to 1.56p per share at early morning trading.

Panthera Resources begins drilling in Burkina Faso

Liam Roche
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Panthera Resources begins drilling in Burkina Faso

Pantthera Resources share price up by over 6%

Panthera Resources (LON:PAT), the gold development company, confirmed on Friday that its planned 5,000m drilling programme has commenced as the Labola (Wuo Land) Project in Burkina Faso.

Drilling will primarily support a maiden resource estimate, while several exploration targets will also be drill tested.

Assay results are expected by Q3 of 2021.

Panthera also said its drilling will test a subset of results found by High River Gold Mines and Tauras Gold between 2008 and 2012. The drilling amounted to 65,556m in 541 holes, Panthera added.

Additionally, the drill programme will look at the coarse gold component of the mineralisation via the leach technique “LeachWell” to see if historical assay results may have underreported gold grades.

Other work at Labola in support of the maiden resource will include: re-logging, quality control, satellite and terrain models and identifying artisanal workings and how much material they have moved.

The area contains numerous artisanal workings over at least 14,000m strike, said Panthera, which appear to be targeting high-grade shoots within individual quartz veins.

The Panthera resources share price is up 6.67% 14.40p per share.

The company confirmed recently that it would not extend a term sheet with Galaxy Gold Mines Pvt Ltd following the recent change in the Indian mining law.

Panthera Resources, incorporated in the UK and Wales in 2017, is focused on exploration and development of its gold projects in India and West Africa and the optimisation of other mineral properties.

Bitcoin creeps back to $40,000

Liam Roche
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Bitcoin creeps back to $40,000

Bitcoin remains up by 38.2% since the turn of the year

Bitcoin, after another chaotic month, has made its way above $40,000, as it seems to be recovering somewhat after a sell-off over the weekend.

At the time of writing, one bitcoin is valued at $40,188.8, 2.26% up in the last 24 hours.

That is having dropped below $38,000 during the same period of time.

Since the beginning of 2021 bitcoin is up by 38.2%.

Recent downturns came thick and fast as a range of factors, including announcements by the Iranian and Chinese governments, as well as tweets by Elon Musk, undermined the cryptocurrency’s value.

“Bitcoin’s energy consumption, and in particular, the percentage of power coming from renewable energies, has been the source of a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt lately, so seeing mining companies volunteering to report publicly on this is a good thing, as long as they don’t try to force any changes to the protocol without first reaching broad consensus across the entire network,” said Mati Greenspan, CEO and founder of Quantumeconomics.io.

Earlier this week news emerged that an “irresponsible” advert had been banned in the UK as it encouraged inexperienced buyers to come to the market.

A poster visible across London’s public transport network by crypto exchange Luno said: “If you’re seeing Bitcoin on the underground, it’s time to buy”.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the advert was misleading and omitted important information regarding the potential risks involved in buying bitcoin.

“We understood that Bitcoin investment was complex, volatile and could expose investors to losses,” the ASA said. “That stood in contrast to the ad. The audience it addressed, the general public, were likely to be inexperienced in their understanding of cryptocurrencies.”

US GDP grows at a rate of 6.4% during Q1

Liam Roche
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US GDP grows at a rate of 6.4% during Q1

GDP comes in slightly lower than consensus estimates

US GDP (Gross Domestic Product) rose at a rate of 6.4% during the first quarter of 2021, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed on Thursday.

The figure is a percentage point below market expectations of 6.5%.

Looking into the future, economists have put forward estimates of a GDP growth rate of 8.2% during the second quarter of the year.

The S&P 500 opened up by 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite held steady. The Down Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.7%

The wider stock market has held steady this week amid fears over oncoming inflation as the Federal Reserve hinted that talks over altering the rate of asset purchases in the near-term may soon commence.

Commenting on US GDP and pandemic-low jobless figures, Ali Jaffari, head of North American Capital Markets at Validus Risk Management, said: “US initial jobless claims and QoQ GDP came in slightly lower than consensus estimates at 406K and 6.4% respectively. Employment data remains a key focus for the Fed and a continued convergence to pre-pandemic levels will certainly drive the thinking on tapering discussions.”

“The jobless claims print has been on a declining trend and this week’s figures mark a pandemic low. As the US economy progresses with its vaccination program and reopening measures, employment and labor force participation are expected to pick up in the coming months. While US Treasuries declined on the release, equity futures continue to be range bound.”

“Looking ahead, although this GDP and jobless claims print may not be sufficient to change the Fed’s thinking, a continued trend will certainly place pressure on the Fed to initiate talks on the reduction in its pace of asset purchases.”

UK investor confidence buoyed by vaccine roll-out and lockdown easing

Liam Roche
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UK investor confidence buoyed by vaccine roll-out and lockdown easing

The vaccine roll-out and the easing of lockdown restrictions is increasing optimism among UK investors.

That is according to an independent survey, commissioned by HYCM (Henyep Capital Markets), of 735 participants.

The survey found that 41% of investors in the UK had confidence that vaccine roll-out would be beneficial to their investment portfolios.

The same number of people believe the relaxing of social distancing rules will have a similarly beneficial impact on their investments.

More people (22%) think Joe Biden’s presidency will have a favourable impact on investments than those (8%) who believe his tenure harmful.

The most popular asset class for UK investors is cash, with 33% of those surveyed planning to invest more into their savings over the coming 12 months.

Stocks and shares (22%) and property (14%) are the next most popular options.

Giles Coghlan, chief currency analyst, HYCM, said: “The success of the vaccine rollout is clearly having a significant influence on investors’ mindsets. In allowing lockdown rules to be lifted and the UK economy to spark back into life, the speed of the vaccine programme should also mean that investors – like consumers – become more active in the months to come.”

“Meanwhile, it is interesting to see that many investors remain wary of how Brexit could affect their savings and investments. While a no-deal outcome was avoided, a large number of investors still fear a tail risk to their assets. It will likely take time for these concerns to subside.”

“In terms of asset classes, UK investors can clearly see the property bubble forming, not just in the UK but around the world – property prices globally have been spurred on by low interest rates. It makes sense that cash savings remain popular given the uncertainty that still lingers overhead, while bonds are evidently also being considered by many. If central banks start tapering, bond yields will become more attractive, and this should see some UK investors moving into bonds from equities.”

The trading broker commissioned an independent survey of 735 UK-based investors, all of whom have investments in excess of £20,000, excluding their property, savings and workplace pensions. It found that 41% are confident the vaccine rollout will benefit their investment portfolios.

Bitcoin is here to stay & BitcoinPoint will accelerate its adoption

UK Investor Magazine
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Bitcoin is here to stay & BitcoinPoint will accelerate its adoption

Sponsored by BitcoinPoint

  • Bitcoin is still up 260% and its trajectory in the mid long-term won’t change
  • Inflation is the impact of the recent correction but will paradoxically be good for Bitcoin
  • Central Banks embracing blockchain with their own digital currencies and the DeFi sector will ultimately be good for Bitcoin
  • BitcoinPoint’s vision is to accelerate the adoption by providing inclusive access

BITCOIN IS -NOT!- DEAD

Bitcoin has already died over 414 times in the media, and each time there’s a correction articles against it are flourishing, and last week was of course no exception.

An asset trending upwards by 260% since May 2020 and that has increased by 200% per annum over the last 12 months is hardly a bubble or one that will fade into obscurity.

The truth is that it’s a classic FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) in Bitcoin’s cycle, and long-term and experienced holders are not selling according to data from Coin Metrics compiled by Portfolio Insider.

DON’T BE DISTRACTED BY THE NOISE

While media are focusing on news about Elon Musk and China (reaffirming a statement from 2017), regulation is not presently a concern as it’s mostly trying to enforce taxation like other asset classes.

THE TRUE WORRIES ARE INFLATION

25% of existing US Dollar didn’t exist a year ago, what’s the impact on this excess of monetary stimulus? 

Early this year, house prices have skyrocketed with the fastest year-on-year growth in the past two decades in wealthier countries (source OECD Analytical House Price Database). However, last month Commodity prices had increased by alarming rates, and two weeks ago the CPI (Consumer Price Index) had the sharpest rise since September 2008 in the US. This latest news took the market by surprise and led to a jump in the Long-Term Bond Yields and a fall in the Stock and Crypto market (which have been correlated for the past year). Then on May 13th the PPI (Production Price Index) was up by 6.2% which was the highest jump since tracking began in 2010.

The problem with inflation above target is that it can led to further inflation when companies start increasing their prices. Not only individuals are impacted, companies with cash on their balance sheets see a depreciation of their asset which is a destruction of shareholder value. 

So, what’s a good hedge against inflation?

Gold is supposed to have limited supply but if we look at the performance over the past year it has increased by just 10% and we are currently not at an all-time-high level.

While Bitcoin has a limited supply of 21 million units it also has a decreasing emission schedule, and its inflation rate is falling to reach nearly zero by 2035 where 99% of Bitcoin will be mined. The billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, one of the most successful macro Hedge Fund managers, sees Bitcoin as “the firstcrypto, first-mover… it has that historical integrity within digital currencies that it will always have … and because of its finite supply, that might be the precious crypto” he added.

One thing Jones is certain of is the digitization of money in the future, especially as more central banks move toward their own digital currencies.

CBDCs

Indeed, Central Banks are now actively looking at CBDCs (central bank digital currency), a concept is inspired by Bitcoin with blockchain based technology. 

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak made the announcement of its potential benefit. While a digital transformation could make payment more resilient and avoid a situation where 90% of payments are controlled by US companies (Mastercard also owns the company running Faster Payments and BACS). CBDCs also hope to compete with existing cryptocurrencies.


However, whilst at the macro-level CBDCs could serve as a powerful tool to monitor flows and inject cash faster without the needs of commercial banks, the ultimate benefit of consumers using contactless payment or similar approaches is questionable.

Likewise, any digital currency created a by a state or issued by private companies replicating fiat currencies like the US Dollar (commonly called ‘stablecoin’), would simplify the access to Bitcoin as commercial banks – still the main ‘on-ramp’ access for Bitcoin – would no longer be required.

Moreover,  ‘state’ cryptocurrencies would be easier to convert with the interoperability of blockchains. As an example, USDC, the second largest stablecoin replicating the US dollar, is now available on four blockchain rails.

But while Central Banks could succeed their digital transformation. These CBDCs are an antithesis of Bitcoin if they lead to mass surveillance by implementing digital identity. Bitcoin was created to become a digital version of cash to keep transactions private.

SUPERIORITY OF BITCOIN 

Bitcoin is a scarce asset and its momentum will not be reproduced: it’s not controlled by any central entity, a state or a company like Facebook, and has no identified founding team or leader, like Vitalik Buterin the man behind Ethereum.

Bitcoin, with its global presence and encouraging adoption, is the gate for the DeFi (Decentralised Finance) sector.

BitcoinPoint a service to accelerate the adoption

The story began early 2017 when its cofounder struggled to open an account on a cryptocurrency exchange and found Bitcoin ATMs too expensive. A few months later, the company released an app with an online Bitcoin wallet that charged zero network fees for purchases in-store to buy at a network of agents, and BitcoinPoint became two years later a platform supported by 25 agents ranking in the top bitcoin ATM services in London. By mid-2020, the app also allowed the customers to instantly buy through Open Banking technology from anywhere, creating a unique bitcoin exchange with non-custodial solutions on both cryptocurrency and fiat, removing the credit risk for the users.

Six months ago, the company began allowing users to sell bitcoin and withdraw cash through 16,000 ATMs across the U.K., making the largest ATM network in the country an off-ramp service for Bitcoin. And last month, it signed an agreement to connect to 320,000 in 20 countries. Starting with the UK with 20,000 Point of Sale (POS)!

FUTURE PLANS

This new partner, bringing in POS locations in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, will be a game changer by allowing us to scale-up their activities faster. The company is  also in discussions with banking and retail partners in different countries to build a remittance service to allow cross-border instant transfers.

After a successful integration into U.K. Faster Payment Service, the company wants to become a fiat gateway to Bitcoin and DeFi by connecting to global payment service providers and facilitate online payment processing solutions in emerging countries for people who don’t have access to the financial system.

FUNDRAISING

While, the company has successfully hit a fundraising goal to expand its services a few hours after being live, the campaign will last for another two weeks as the more funding they can gather, the quicker they can realize their global expansion.

Visit BitcoinPoint’s crowdfunding page on Crowdcube.

Find out more about their services on their website here.

Aviva Share Price: plenty to absorb for investors after strong Q1 results

Liam Roche
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Aviva Share Price: plenty to absorb for investors after strong Q1 results

Aviva Share Price

The Aviva share price (LON:AV), at 410.90p per share, has now reached its pre-pandemic level. This is despite moving sideways for the last two months. Since the beginning of the year, the Aviva share price is up by 26.4%. As the FTSE 100 insurance company released its Q1 results today, this article will analyse Aviva’s ability to maintain its bullish run moving forward.

Results

Aviva announced solid sales figures from its life insurance business, at £8.3bn, as well as a 4% increase in general insurance on Thursday.

Aviva also sold eight businesses, amounting to £7.5bn over the past year, in order to focus on its priority markets, the UK, Ireland and Canada. The British insurance company reaffirmed its pledge to give cash to shareholders. However, this could happen as late as 2022, according to chief financial officer Jason Windsor.

“Combined operating ratios in the General Insurance business, which illustrates the proportion of premiums that are paid out either as claims or in operating costs, improved dramatically – falling 28.1 percentage points to 90.6%,” said Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves and Lansdown.

“The group expects conditions to get tougher as the year goes on, especially as motor claims increase when lockdown ends, but expects the combined operating ratio to remain below 95% this year,” Hyett added.

Analysts at JP Morgan described the Q1 update as “strong”, and restated an “overweight” rating for the company.

“Aviva put on a good show following its strong Q1 results that contained plenty of meaty headlines for investors to absorb,” Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

Focus on Sustainability

Aviva has also refocused towards strategies around sustainability. This was one of the reasons for their decision to sell some of their assets across the world.

Amanda Blanc, chief executive of Aviva, recently outlined the group’s efforts to clean up their investments, saying Aviva will only invest “where [they] are sure it delivers sufficient returns’ for stakeholders. Blanc added that ‘where [they] see a valuable opportunity to invest in growth, [they] will take it”.

This follows Aviva’s commitment to becoming the first major insurance company in the world to slash its emissions to net-zero by 2040.

With strong results and a clear strategy on environmental issues, the Aviva share price looks like a solid proposition for investors.

Uber to allow drivers to join union in historic deal

Liam Roche
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0
Uber to allow drivers to join union in historic deal

Uber (NYSE:UBER) confirmed on Thursday that it will officially recognise a trade union in a landmark deal that could benefit gig economy employees.

The GMB union has been given the power to represent UK drivers in discussions on a number of issues, including earnings and wellbeing.

Mick Rix, national officer at GMB, commented on the ruling:

Rix said it could be “the first step to a fairer working life for millions of people”.

“When tech private hire companies and unions work together like this, everyone benefits – bringing dignified, secure employment back to the world of work.

“We now call on all other operators to follow suit.”

The deal arrived three months after a Supreme Court ruling stated that Uber should not be allowed to classify its drivers as independent contractors, who would forego employee rights.

Subsequently, Uber confirmed in March that it would consider its UK drivers as “workers”. This would entitle them to a minimum wage, enrolment into a pension plan and holiday pay.

GMB and Uber will now gather once every three months to talk about driver related issues.

Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, acknowledged the company’s increasing reliance on unions.

“Whilst Uber and GMB may not seem like obvious allies, we’ve always agreed that drivers must come first, and today we have struck this important deal to improve workers’ protections,” Mr Heywood said.

“This historic agreement means that Uber will be the first in the industry to ensure that its drivers also have full union representation.”

Earlier this month, Arrival, the British electric vehicle manufacturer, recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange, entered a partnership with Uber to develop electric taxis.

The deal will involve Uber drivers having an input into the design of the cars which are scheduled to move into production next year. 

It is part of a wider plan by Uber to transition its 45,000 London-based drivers to electric vehicles by 2025, while the remainder of UK drivers will do the same by 2030.

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