Coal, Christmas and crypto: 10 things we learned…

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The Christmas post – along with just about everything else – will be severely disrupted this year. Royal Mail today unleashed a wave of strikes delaying the delivery of millions of cards and parcels. This also has significant implications for other businesses. Delivery company Evri, for example, has already apologized for delays after increased demand for its services – in part due to businesses and customers trying to avoid the Royal Mail chaos. It is certainly shaping up to be a Christmas of discontent, with industrial action expected every day between now and December 25 as postal workers join train drivers, nurses, NHS staff, Border Force personnel, teachers, bus drivers and beer brewers on strike over paying rewards. Until now, the government’s plan has been to use the military to maintain essential services, but this begs the question: are our armed forces big enough to fight fires on all fronts (particularly if the firefighters also strike)? It’s a shame we can’t deploy Santa’s elves for the job, but who knows, maybe they’re already voting for more generous members for mince pie supplies.

Hipgnosis benefits from John Lewis publicity

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing loudly for everyone to hear. Well, according to the Elf movie anyway. It’s a sentiment Guernsey-based investment firm Hipgnosis Songs Fund no doubt agrees with, as it revealed sales were boosted by John Lewis using one of his songs, Blink-182’s All the Small Things, in their latest Christmas commercial. The listed company, which also owns the rights to Christmas classics by Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé, said the holiday season helped boost revenue for the fund, which now owns the rights to 65,000 songs. And while most companies might nominate the CEO for an interview when releasing their financial results, Hipgnosis – founded by a former Guns n’ Roses executive – asked Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora to play Livin’ on a Prayer to investors and analysts in London as they digested news of its full-year dividend target and gross earnings for the six months to the end of September.

Even finance has football fever

Football has been intertwined with big business for many years now, but this year the business side of the beautiful game has come to a head. A World Cup year helps keep the hype close to hysteria, of course. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are hoping one of their stars will lift the gold trophy next weekend – Mbappé, Neymar or Messi – just like their sponsors. PSG is not for sale, but many football ‘franchises’ have been sold – AC Milan, Chelsea – and Liverpool and Manchester United could be next. Why now? As cash-generating machines with “historic” brands, the clubs attract American billionaires. It was also a year where other assets let investors down – as James Gard explains in his in-depth analysis of football and finance.

Coal is not yet relegated to history

The UK government has approved the first new coal mine in decades, just 12 months after hosting COP26 in Glasgow, where the main commitment was to phase out the use of this fossil fuel. At the time, countries like India and China were seen as the biggest obstacle to sending coal in history, not the UK opening a new coal mine in West Cumbria . Proponents argue, somewhat counterintuitively, that this will not jeopardize the UK’s climate commitments, as it is expected to reduce coking coal imports for the UK steel industry. Critics, however, accused the government of hypocrisy, with the government’s own advisory committee on climate change calling the decision “absolutely indefensible”. Foreign leaders were equally appalled, with the President of Fiji tweeting: “Is this the future we fought for in the Glasgow Pact? Fossil fuels should be eliminated – not increased”.

FCA gets tough on Get Rich programs

The regulator plans to crack down on “rogue” ads, often used to promote high-risk investment schemes in assets like cryptocurrency. There has been a proliferation of such promotions online and via social media in recent years and the FCA is clearly concerned about the number of ordinary savers and investors lured into schemes with no idea of ​​the risks involved. The proposed rules will give the regulator much greater oversight of licensed businesses and their promotional materials, which it hopes will crack down on such rogue advertisements and third-party “influencers.” But while this may prevent legitimate companies from circumventing the rules, it is unlikely to block determined scammers. Investors should always keep their cool and take any post on social media indicating a lucrative investment opportunity with a very big pinch of salt.

Be careful who you bank with

Revolut, the London-based digital finance app, is part of a new generation of challengers to the Big Five Banks. It has grown rapidly and revealed last month that it now has more than 25 million customers worldwide, making it the UK’s most valuable fintech, according to a survey. But a Radio 4 program this week warned that some customers were struggling to get their money back after being defrauded. Unlike major UK banks, Revolt does not have a UK banking license and has not signed the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, which aims to ensure that those who fall victim to certain types of fraud get a full refund. Revolut says it is reviewing cases on an individual basis and will review the effectiveness of its potential fraud warning, as well as customer behavior, before making any refund decisions.

Baillie Gifford Prunes Investment Trust Portfolio

“Ruthless weeding” is not a term often associated with investment trust managers. But Baillie Gifford used the term to explain why he sold 20 tech stocks in a bid to boost the performance of his popular Monks Investment Trust (MNKS). The silver-listed growth trust has seen its returns decline in recent months, underperforming its benchmark by 5%. Eliminated stocks include Peloton (PTON), which failed to replicate sales of its expensive exercise bikes after the shutdowns, and Caravan, a used car retailer, which surprisingly offers car vending machines to United States. Monks officials said the company’s “likelihood of success” is “shrinking.”

Goldman Sachs on the hunt for crypto bargains

Sharks, or should it be vampire squids, are circling cryptocurrency companies after the FTX implosion hit valuations across the sector. Goldman Sachs has revealed that it is performing “due diligence” on a number of companies, pointing out that although the bankruptcy of one of the most prominent companies in crypto, led by Sam Bankman Fried, has “ hit the feeling,” the underlying technology continues to work. The global investment bank isn’t alone in looking to profit from FTX’s untimely demise. Fancy clothing vendors are flogging “classic” cryptocurrency trading T-shirts, with the “FTX Risk Management Dept” logo on sites such as Redbubble. The design, which comes in a range of colours, is priced at just under £20 – affordable as comedy stocking filler for those who have seen the value of their cryptoassets plummet and are yet to receive a premium Goldman Sachs.

The biggest drop in house prices since 2008

There’s no doubt about it: 2023 is shaping up to be a pretty bleak year for the housing market. After seeming to defy gravity and logic for months, house prices are heading back down. Halifax, the UK’s biggest lender, said house prices fell 2.3% last month – the biggest monthly price drop since the 2008 financial crash. annual house price inflation, with homeowners now eyeing year-over-year gains of just 4.7%, down from double-digit gains a few months ago. The only question now is whether this slowdown is translating into a flat housing market or larger annual price declines.

Scruff range

It may be cold outside, but there was a heartwarming story this week about “eco-dog” Scruff. The Warwickshire border collie has collected hundreds of discarded plastic bottles for their owners to recycle. Scruff takes his recycling very seriously according to neighbors and collects about 15 plastic bottles on each walk. Given that Brits don’t recycle around 16 million plastic bottles a year, maybe we all need to be a little more Scruffy this Christmas.

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