Can anything put the brakes on the oil rally? Brent Crude and its cousin WTI have continued advancing throughout 2018, with seemingly nothing holding them back. With Brent’s June futures contracts trading just shy of $75 per barrel, oil prices have reached the highs last seen all the way in November 2014. And as the…
We’re bang in the middle of Q1 earnings season and the UK’s UK 100 index of blue-chip equities has rallied another 1.6%, easily outperforming global peers to hit its highest since early February. It’d be easy to assume that the driver was great results from big name companies, but it was actually a fall in…
27 April Reuters “We’ve been able to focus much more the earnings season and underlying trends,” Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said, adding that companies can be more cautious in the first quarter. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-eye-fifth-week-of-gains-as-results-season-gathers-pace-idUKKBN1HY0TQ 26 April The Telegraph However Mike van Dulken, who runs Accendo Markets’ research division, noted that the…
A tripling in Q1 profits for Royal Bank of Scotland failed to serve as the silver lining to the UK lender’s otherwise cloudy prospects, with a sharp fall in mortgage lending, and how much it will ultimately cost to settle litigation from across the Pond. Pre-tax operating profits +70% to £1.21B easily beat consensus of…
Car insurance group Hastings today admits to being the latest victim of the Beast from the East, with March’s snow and ice resulting in higher than expected Q1 claims costs. Management also pointed to “challenging” price competition in Jan and Feb, which is code for “we had to offer lower premiums to secure business”. This…
Takeda will be hoping that it’s a case of fifth time’s the charm, after revising higher its takeover offer for Shire. The new offer of £49/share (up 4% from Friday’s £47/share, up 11% from initial bid) comprises £21.75 cash, with the remaining £27.26 in newly issued Takeda shares. This is also the first time that…