Lillian McKenna

Kindly help me understand the meaning of the term CFD Spread.

I heard that GE recently sold its bio-pharma unit, is it advisable to buy the stock now?

Given that cryptos have not been performing well during the COVID-19 pandemic, how will crypto markets look after the pandemic is over?

Hi, is now a good time to buy Inovio Pharmaceuticals stock following its recent sell-off?

Hi, I recently bought some bitcoin and was wandering where to store it safely given recent hacking news.

Given the recent sell-off in oil prices, do you think oil will rally any time soon?

Should I buy Dropbox stock given its recent rally on positive earnings?

Why did Bitcoin fall by almost $400 earlier today?

When will the merger between Sprint and T-Mobile happen?

Why did European stocks and US stock futures rally higher earlier today?

Goldman Sachs is set to hold its first-ever investor day later today, I'm curious as to why they chose to do it now.

The coronavirus seems to be spreading, will cryptos suffer the same declines as stocks?

Boeing recently appointed Dave Calhoun as CEO, is he the right person to revive the company?

Bunge Ltd (NYSE:BG) recently reported its second-quarter earnings results, which beat analysts’ expectations largely due to an increase in its 1.6% shareholding in Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) as the maker of vegan meat substitutes keeps rising following its IPO. The agribusiness and food company reported earnings per share of $1.52 with a large portion of the earnings ($0.90) being attributed to the $135m unrealised gain from the appreciation of its stake in Beyond Meat. BG also reported that its earnings from grain origination activities in South America grew significantly offsetting the decline reported in similar activities carried out within the North American market. The company’s American operations were negatively affected by the ongoing US-China trade war leading to a drastic drop in export demand for Bunge’s grains, while operations were also hampered by heavy rains and floods, which hindered the efficient movement of grains. Most analysts believe that Bunge will continue to outperform over the short-term, but given the difficulty of forecasting future demand and supply of grains and other agribusiness products, it remains to be seen exactly how the company will perform going forward.

German authorities today charged Rupert Stadler, the former CEO of Volkswagen’s Audi division with fraud along with three other anonymous accomplices who knew that thousands of cars manufactured by Audi, VW and Porsche were equipped with rigged software. Stadler reiterated his innocence claiming that he did not know that the software in the affected vehicles had been altered to display misleading emissions results on tests. He was also charged with criminal advertising practices and the false certification of vehicles. The charges are part of the wider “Dieselgate scandal” that was uncovered in September 2015 after it was discovered that Volkswagen had fitted “cheat devices” on 600,000 cars sold in the United States as well as millions of vehicles sold worldwide to lower their emissions ratings. This is the second time that Stadler has been arrested following his initial arrest in June 2018 before his release on bail on October 2018. The Munich state court now has to decide whether there is enough evidence to initiate an official trial based on the charges.

Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) today announced that it was in the process of acquiring Toro Gold, a private mining company with operations in some African countries including Senegal, in a move that proves that mergers among gold miners are far from over. There is no doubt that Resolute Mining is acquiring Toro Gold in order to get access to its Mako gold mine, given Resolute’s wide experience in the West African mining sector, except in Senegal where the mine is located. Resolute is on an expansion drive given that it got fully listed on the London Stock Exchange earlier this year and it is quite likely that the acquisition of Toro Gold was a crucial part of its growth strategy. The deal, worth $300m, will be funded partly by a $170m share swap agreement where Toro Gold shareholders will receive Resolute shares, while the remaining $130m will be settled via a direct cash payout to Toro Gold shareholders. Both firms define the terms of the agreement in a slightly different manner in order to appeal to their shareholders, regardless, the merger is good for both companies.

The Nationwide housing survey released earlier today indicated that house prices in the UK rose 0.3% in July on a monthly basis, however, the annualised print came in at 0.3%, a six-month low that has investors worried leading to a selloff in most home building companies. Taylor Wimpey Plc (LON:TW) fell 6.0% following the survey’s release to trade at 165.95p contributing significantly to the 55 point drop in the FTSE 100 index earlier today as the footsie fell to trade at 7,592. Howard Archer, the chief economic advisor to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club clarified that: “It is worth noting that there have been appreciable differences in house price performances across the regions with the overall national performance dragged down by London and the South East." He attributed the weakness being seen in the housing market to the 31st October Brexit deadline, which has created uncertainty among consumers as it is unclear what will happen in the case of a no-deal Brexit. Archer also said that current house prices are expensive as compared to most homebuyers’ income. Therefore, some potential buyers are waiting for possible lower prices in future before buying a house.

According to a report published by The Times, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) knew that Lendy, the collapsed peer-to-peer lending platform, had misled some of its investors at least ten months before granting the company full authorisation in July 2018. The FCA had ordered Lendy to compensate some customers back in 2017 after they had invested in loans based on information which wasn't accurate, which highlighted some of the lender’s regulatory shortfalls. Many investors were shocked that the UK regulator knew of the firm’s bad business practices yet went ahead and allowed it to operate on a large scale. The FCA admitted via a statement that it was aware of the company’s misdeeds back in 2017, but that the company was executing a remediation plan at the time of authorisation. Lendy had crowdsourced money from retail investors since its founding in 2012 and then used the funds to advance secured loans to property developers from 2014. However, the platform failed in May 2019 with over £160m in outstanding loans, over £90m of which was in default.

The UK’s FTSE 100 index, commonly referred to as the ‘footsie”, opened just three points higher today amid subdued trading as investors wait for the official announcement of the next Conservative Party leader. Boris Johnson, who seems the most likely to take over, favours a tough Brexit approach. Most traders are waiting for tomorrow’s formal appointment and who the new leader will announce in their new cabinet lineup. Several senior ministers are set to resign this week, with Sir Alan Duncan stepping down today in anticipation of Johnson moving into Downing Street. This is set to be a tumultuous week in British politics as the incoming PM will have to deal with at least six defections from the Tory party to the Liberal Democrats and the resignations of senior ministers in his first week in office. The Footsie later posted gains as oil majors rallied higher, boosted by the crisis unfolding in the Gulf region following Iran’s seizure of a British oil tanker on Friday and the country's refusal to release the vessel. The tensions in the Gulf region boosted London-listed oil majors BP Plc (LON:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA), which led the index higher as most European indices fell.