Category Archives: Investing

Neil Woodford investors sue administrators of collapsed fund

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Law firm brings group litigation aiming to recoup at least £18m on behalf of 1,500 people

Investors who lost millions in the collapse of a fund run by the former star stockpicker Neil Woodford have brought group litigation against the administrator in hopes of recouping at least £18m.

The law firm Harcus Parker lodged its first batch of claims on behalf of 1,500 savers at the high court in London on Friday morning. Woodford himself is not the target – the claim is against the administrator of his fund, Link Fund Solutions, which is accused of failing in its duty to protect investors. Lawyers expect to expand the suit to represent at least 7,000 claimants.

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Women-led UK firms struggle to attract equal investment, study finds

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The Gender Index aims to support growth of female-led companies, which tend to have lower turnovers

Companies led by women disproportionately attract less investment than those led by men, according to a large-scale study of female entrepreneurship in the UK.

The Gender Index, which was launched on Thursday, is a research study of all 4.4m active UK companies and allows users to track the impact of female-led firms on the economy via an online, interactive tool.

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China’s Evergrande crisis: clock ticking as crucial debt default deadline looms

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A default by the property giant could have far-reaching consequences for China and global economy

The rescue of embattled Chinese property company Evergrande appears to have stalled, leaving the developer on the brink of default and threatening to unleash contagion through the country’s giant real estate sector, home prices and the economy.

The problems enveloping Evergrande, which has eyewatering total debts of $305bn, have hung over global financial markets in recent weeks and helped curb China’s post-pandemic recovery.

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Eco investors turn up the heat on Shell over climate target

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Voting at the oil giant’s annual meeting this week could see Follow This activists making trouble over emissions

Shell is braced for its largest climate rebellion this week as shareholders face the choice between backing the oil giant’s carbon-cutting plans or siding with an activist investor who is calling for tougher emissions targets.

With its annual meeting planned for Tuesday, the Anglo-Dutch company has called on its investors to vote against a shareholder resolution from campaign group Follow This in favour of its own plans to reduce its emissions to “net zero” by 2050.

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Bitcoin records biggest one-day drop for almost two months

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Fall comes amid warnings over speculation by novice investors in cryptocurrencies such as dogecoin

Bitcoin has posted its biggest one-day drop in almost two months, amid warnings that novice investors could suffer heavy losses from speculating in crypto assets such as “meme coin” dogecoin.

Bitcoin tumbled more than 11% on Sunday, dropping from about $62,000 (£45,000) to $55,000 – its lowest level since the end of March. Last week, the cryptocurrency had hit fresh record highs at nearly $65,000.

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Green investing ‘is definitely not going to work’, says ex-BlackRock executive

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Tariq Fancy once oversaw the start of the biggest effort to turn Wall Street ‘green’ – but now believes the climate crisis can never be solved by today’s free markets

From his desk in midtown Manhattan Tariq Fancy once oversaw the beginning of arguably the biggest, most ambitious, effort ever to turn Wall Street “green”. Now, as environmentally friendly investing grows at an exponential rate, Fancy has come to a stark conclusion: “This is definitely not going to work.”

As the former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, Fancy was charged with embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) corporate policies across the investment giant’s portfolio.

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Mighty Amazon looks all but unassailable as Covid continues

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Jeff Bezos’s company is set for sales topping $100bn last quarter, and while rivals are nibbling, its position looks secure

The earliest references to the “one-stop shop” emerged during the first decades of 20th century as the fast-growing US economy spurred rapid retail innovation. A single location for various products provides obvious benefits: removing the hassle of travelling around town to visit different stores.

Jeff Bezos redefined that logic for the internet age, making Amazon a dominant (and perhaps ambivalent) force first in selling books, and then in pretty much everything else. Before 2020 Amazon was a phenomenon, but the coronavirus pandemic has made it all but ubiquitous.

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How GameStop traders fired the first shots in millennials’ war on Wall Street

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The dramatic struggle over video game chain’s shares suggests markets must now contend with a breed of angry, young, networked investors

When Ben, 28, a software engineer from Leeds, bought two shares in US games retailer GameStop for £460, it was for one reason, he says: “When they make the film about this in years to come, I’ll know I was there at the frontline with a bunch of idiots on the internet, trying to bring down Wall Street.”

For Emma Rivers from East Sussex, who invested £1,400 in the same company – having known little about it a few weeks ago – it has all been about sending a message that capitalism has had its day.

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Is ‘hysterical’ market speculation pushing us towards another crash?

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Despite Covid, global stocks started 2021 on a high. But some analysts warn of an ‘epic’ bubble, amid fears that the flow of stimulus has created a monster

Insurrections are not usually seen by investors as buy signals. Yet even as rioters stormed the seat of US legislative government last week, stock market indices hit new highs in New York, adding another chapter to 12 months of apparent defiance of economic gravity.

Wall Street, measured by the benchmark S&P 500, was not alone in starting 2021 with a bang. London’s FTSE 100 jumped by more than 6% in the first week of the year as investors took in a heady cocktail of a President Joe Biden ready and able to spend money, cheap borrowing costs, and the hopes that vaccines will end the coronavirus lockdowns. Yet amid the exuberance a serious concern looms: are we on the cusp of another colossal crash?

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Ebullient analysts predict markets will weather the storm in 2021

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Some forecasters, buoyed by the success of big tech and vaccines, are predicting 10‑15% gains

The new year is traditionally a time for looking forwards, for hopeful resolutions, for celebrating. But for economists and investors, the annual forecasts for 2021 might be something of a painful reminder of exactly how much they failed to foresee.

The pandemic quickly made a mockery of all projections. An entertaining analysis of US chief executives’ statements during 2020 by data company Sentieo for the New York Times showed a 70,000% year-on-year rise in the use of “unprecedented”, while “humbled” tripled – perhaps code for “it wasn’t my fault, so you should still pay me the same”. To be fair, though, in March it really did feel like nobody had a clue what to do – even governments, who are meant to have “pandemic” firmly on their risk radars.

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Global stock market rally is a gamble, IMF warns investors

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Report identifies gap between market optimism and depressed state of economies

The global stock market rally represents a gamble by investors that central banks will ignore the risks of a buildup in debt and continue to provide support at the current record levels, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

In an update to its half-yearly global financial stability report, the IMF said central banks had been pivotal in the recovery of share prices from their Covid-19 trough but there was now a gap between the optimism of financial markets and the depressed state of economies.

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To drive out the tax avoiders, the EU must reimburse states that depend on them

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An initiative against tax havens has been voted down by states who cannot afford to lose the revenue such status brings

For the time being, the European commission has lost its battle with the EU’s tax havens for greater visibility on how much tax multinational companies pay and where they pay it.

A proposed rule would have forced multinationals to reveal the revenues and profits they make, and how little corporate tax they pay, in each of the 28 member states.

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‘Serious blow’ to north-east as Ineos plans to shut chemical plant

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Closure of plant could threaten 220 jobs after being deemed ‘no longer viable’

Ineos is preparing to shut a chemical plant in Teesside which it has owned for the past 10 years in a blow to hundreds of workers in the north-east of England.

The chemicals company, owned by the billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, said “nothing can be done” to save the plant at Seal Sands, which is no longer economically viable.

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Corporations pile pressure on Brazil over Amazon fires

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Asset managers, pension funds and companies halt deals and stop buying bonds

Financial pressure is growing on Brazil over fires in the Amazon and the far-right president’s belligerent response to them.

Asset managers, pension funds and companies have issued warnings, halted deals and stopped purchases of government bonds.

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Uncovered: the £200m theme park, the businessman – and the missing millions

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A Guardian/ITV News undercover investigation raises concerns about Gavin Woodhouse, who is behind project endorsed by Bear Grylls

A new £200m outdoor adventure park, which is being launched with the support of the celebrity adventurer Bear Grylls, is being fronted by a financier who has raised millions of pounds from private investors and whose businesses have a multimillion-pound “black hole”.

Related: How Gavin Woodhouse raised millions for a string of stalled projects

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