Prices and Markets

A new survey commissioned by cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer has revealed some interesting insights about the way Europeans view the world's most recent asset class. The details of the survey show that close to two-thirds of Europeans believe cryptocurrencies will still be around in ten years’ time; however, opinions vary by country about which crypto assets will be at the top and how they’ll be used in the economy. For the survey, bitFlyer reportedly polled 10,000 respondents throughout Europe across ten...

Apple is now firmly ensconced as a major player in the financial sector, with the recent launch of its Apple Card in conjunction with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. It’s unlikely that traditional banks are happy with this news. There have been years of speculation as to whether Big Tech giants will take the plunge into this area. And now Apple Card could be destined to smash the Fintech competition. How will Apple Card affect the Fintech sector? The Apple Card...

Leave or remain? That is the question, once again. But this time it’s not in an advisory referendum that attracts 46,500,001 members of the great British public, but one that involves a more niche group of people – the bankers. Indeed, financial institutions the world over have had to plan and re-plan over the various models of Brexit they have been expecting. Many planned their next moves based on the 29 March leaving date, but the delays have no doubt thrown...

Did you know that, if done right, network marketing has the potential to be one of the most powerful marketing business models? Network marketing is officially defined as a business model that depends on person-to-person sales by independent representatives, (often working from home). Also known as affiliate marketing or consumer direct marketing, the appeal behind it is that an individual with a lot of energy and good sales skills can create a profitable business with a modest investment. And if...

Read full report Seneca Global Income & Growth Trust’s (SIGT’s) manager, Seneca Investment Managers (Seneca IM), has continued to reduce the trust’s equity weighting, in advance of a global recession it expects in late 2020/ early 2021. Consistent with its view, the yield curve has all but inverted (as at 22 March, the gap between three-month and 10-year US treasury bonds was just 3 basis points) and the manager says that in the past, on average, an economic recession has...

Jupiter Emerging & Frontier Income (JEFI) has outperformed the average of competing listed emerging markets funds since launch (see page 14). In 2018, JEFI’s exposure to smaller and medium-sized companies and frontier markets acted as a drag on performance, relative to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the index that JEFI uses as a performance comparator).... Read more With US interest rate rises no longer on the table for 2019, investors’ interest in emerging and frontier markets may be rekindled. JEFI’s...

Through the first quarter of 2019, global equities largely clawed back the losses suffered over the final weeks of 2018. How much longer this ten-year bull market can sustain itself is the subject of much debate. US interest rate rises have stalled, reflecting growing cautiousness. Elsewhere, many of the headwinds that ruffled markets late last year, including the US/China trade negotiations, continue to lurk in the background. The UK remains in gridlock, with no sign of a resolution to Brexit......

Year-to-date, Ecofin Global Utilities and Infrastructure Trust (EGL)’s manager, Jean-Hugues de Lamaze, has avoided the fall-out from the bankruptcy of Californian utility Pacific Gas & Electric (see page 4), and the trust’s NAV performance has been strong (a total return of 10.9% to the end of March 2019), outperforming both the MSCI World Utilities and S&P Global Infrastructure Indices... Read more Despite this, EGL has been trading at the wider end of its discount range (it reached a 12-month high...

A collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or sell any of the companies mentioned. Read more on our website Roundup March was a better month for markets, with each of the indices in the adjacent chart rising by at least 2%....