August’s top and bottom performing funds September 4, 2018 The Turkish lira succumbed to a savage slump in August following a doubling of US tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium in retaliation for the imprisonment of a pastor on terrorism charges. Concerns about the Turkish economy had been mounting for some time given President Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic rule and the appointment of his son-in-law [...]
How emerging markets have changed over the past 20 years November 8, 2018 The transformation of emerging markets has been remarkable. The countries and companies that dominated 20 years ago have changed dramatically, influenced by the major geopolitical, economic and demographic changes that have taken place over this time. Navigating these changes can be complex, but these developments underline the importance of taking a flexible, active approach and [...]
Walmart takes on Amazon in battle for Indian Flipkart with $15bn bid May 7, 2018 Walmart is set to take on Amazon to buy a stake in India’s biggest online retailer Flipkart, in a deal worth $15bn (£11.06bn). Reports today say that the American retailer will buy three-quarters of Flipkart’s shares at a valuation of just under $20bn. Sources close to the deal told the Financial Times that Walmart boss [...]
Beware the real Beast from the East: Chinese tech giants March 5, 2018 The last week has seen the UK battered by the worst snow we’ve seen in years, thanks to freezing temperatures coming from the east. But cold weather and heavy snow is not the only thing that is making the move from east to west. Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and JD.com have started to [...]
Arabian heights: What Saudi Arabia’s upgrade means for investors July 3, 2018 It was a symbolic moment for Saudi Arabia last week when women could finally get behind the wheel. Lifting this archaic driving ban was obviously a huge milestone for women’s rights, but it also speaks volumes about the direction of travel the country is heading in. The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has been [...]
Big Tech must be tamed, for the sake of a fair society May 17, 2018 Just as the competitive oil rush gave way to Rockefeller’s new monopoly in the form of Standard Oil, so the internet’s infrastructure is being built around a handful of companies of immense and growing power: Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, along with their Chinese equivalents, Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu. There are real concerns that while [...]
The rise of young Asia: how millennials are transforming a region November 6, 2017 There seems to be a growing view that Asia has a problem with ageing. It is certainly true that maturing populations will soon be putting pressure on workforces in countries like China, Korea and Taiwan. But, this misses the point: there is a huge shift of economic power to a growing and increasingly wealthy Asian [...]
DEBATE: Are Open Banking and PSD2 a real threat to banks? October 30, 2017 Are Open Banking and PSD2 a real threat to banks? Mike Gordon is chief executive of Callcredit, says YES. Banks make most of their money from a few products, which they package along with current accounts. Open Banking and PSD2 will change this model, as shown by our recent research with Ctrl-Shift. Open Banking requires [...]
Tech stocks are booming in emerging markets, but don’t be passive aggressive January 30, 2018 Emerging market stocks have been on a rampage. The MSCI Emerging Markets index has climbed an impressive 49 per cent since the end of 2016, marking the end of a two-year bad spell. But this growth doesn’t necessarily stem from the rise of the middle classes as many would expect, nor does it come from [...]
Apple acquires music app Shazam: Deal pleases early investors despite “unicorn” valuation loss of tech startup December 11, 2017 Apple is acquiring music discovery app Shazam, saying it is a “natural fit” and has “exciting plans in store” for the nearly two-decade-old British startup. The value of the deal was not disclosed by the tech giant but has been reported to be worth around the $400m mark. Apple said in a statement confirming earlier [...]