Volvo cars completes IPO and see over 200k new shareholders
Market Report 30-10-21 Volvo cars, trading under the ticker VOLCAR-B, completed its IPO listing on 29/10. Having been oversubscribed in the lead up to its equity offering, the manufacturer said the IPO would see the entire company add more than 200,000 new shareholders, according to Reuters. Shares jumped as much as 27% on the Nasdaq […]
10yr maturity UK Gilts see highest 1 day change in yield since the pandemic
Market Report 29-10-21 This week, 10-year maturity UK Gilts (the Treasury’s government-back bond) saw the highest one-day change in yield since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020: Yield, which moves inversely to price, indicated a strong positive reaction from investors on the news that the Government was prepared to slash its planned debt […]
Lithium is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most essential resources
Market Report 22-10-21 Lithium will be known to most of the world as “Li” on the periodic table if you were taught chemistry at school – until now. Lithium is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most essential resources; being the main material used for manufacturing car batteries and for industrial scale electricity storage. China […]
US & European Equities gain on major indices
Market Report 21-01-21 US and European Equities continued to gain on major indices including the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the European STOXX 600 over the past few weeks. As earnings for major companies are released for the third quarter, the market consensus has been that earnings across the board have managed to outpace current […]
China cracks down on blockchain bitcoin activities
Market Report 15-10-21 In recent months, China has cracked down on blockchain bitcoin activities. According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Chinese mining activity has fallen from 34.21% of the total global hash rate (computational power per second used to mine cryptocurrency) in June to 0% in August: Observing the chart, since the crackdown […]
EU issues the largest value of “green bonds” in financial history
Market Report 13-10-21 This week, the European Union issued the largest value of “green bonds” in financial history. The bloc raised its target €12 billion and attracted over €135 billion worth of orders for the bonds – signalling strong investor demand for the security in a period where fund managers and investors are focused on […]
Transition to net zero economy, investors drawn to ‘green’ financial products
Market Report 08-10-21 As countries around the world perpetuate their transition to a “net zero” economy in the coming decades, investor sentiment has been drawn towards investing in “green” financial products. Green bonds, a fixed income debt security that is specifically offered to finance environmental or climate projects, are the most issued green security but […]
Technology’s applications to finance are shaping our monetary future
Market Report 07-10-21 As technology has evolved, many aspects of life have been economised. Why ring a taxi when you can order an Uber? Why print off your boarding pass for a flight when you can have it on your phone? Why have a heart check-up when your Apple watch is constantly monitoring your heart […]
Collapse of The Evergrande Group is to China what Lehman Brothers was to the US
Market Report 24-09-21 The impending collapse of The Evergrande Group is to China what Lehman Brothers was to the United States. The world’s most indebted property developer may have reached its limits. On 23/09, Evergrande is expected to make a crucial bond payment using “off-exchange negotiations” according to the Financial Times. In addition to owing […]
Insufficient hedging leads to 5 UK energy suppliers (570k customers) going bust
Market Report 23-09-21 Following on from the Market Report last week on 17/09, the situation surrounding gas prices has deteriorated rapidly. According to the Financial Times, five UK energy suppliers (with a total of 570,000 domestic customers) have already gone out of business since the start of August due to insufficient hedging or weak balance […]
Natural gas prices soar to record highs with shortages according to Ofgem
Market Report 17-09-21 Natural gas prices have soared to record highs amidst concerns of tight supplies and weather-induced shortages ahead of winter. According to Ofgem, the Office for Gas and Electricity Markets, the price for forward delivery contracts of natural gas in the UK have skyrocketed since the start of the year: Source: William […]
Largest change in inflation rate since CPI 12-month inflation rate series began in 1997
Market Report 16-09-21 The UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 3.2% in the 12 months to August 2021, up from 2.0% in the 12 months to July. The 1.2% percentage point increase is, according to the Office for National Statistics, the largest incremental change in the inflation rate between two months since the CPI […]
Cryptocurrency is an asset class and it is here to stay
Market Report 12-09-21 Whether institutional investors like it or not, cryptocurrency is an asset class, and it is here to stay. Andreessen Horowitz, a Venture Capital fund best known for investing in Facebook and Twitter, is aiming to raise $450 million for its second cryptocurrency fund. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs, the preeminent investment bank, announced they […]
Football became a professional vocation in 1888 with establishment of the Football League
Market Report 06-09-21 Football became a professional vocation in 1888 with the establishment of the Football League. In the 133 years since the professional game was founded, it is fair to say football has evolved. Whether it be tactics, finances, clubs, players, or fans, almost every aspect of the game has changed. The first statistics […]
U.S. government bond market underpins the global financial system
Market Report 02-09-21 The U.S. government bond market underpins the global financial system. Considered the safest publicly listed investment available to investors, there are currently $21.7 trillion worth of outstanding U.S. Treasury securities worldwide. Additionally, yields on medium to long term maturity Treasury bonds are used as proxies for the “risk-free” rate of return which […]