exchange – Latest News

Moment Irish tourist damages statue outside Brussels Stock Exchange the day after it was

admin — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 20:36:28 +0000

Moment Irish tourist damages statue outside Brussels Stock Exchange the day after it was unveiled following £15,000 restoration

Irishman was arrested after snapping off part of ‘the hand with a torch’ statue
Stock Exchange had just undergone £77m restoration, including work to statue
Do you know who the tourist is? Email tips@dailymail.com

Published: 10:32 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 13:37 EDT, 13 September 2023

An Irishman has been arrested in Brussels after breaking off part of a statue outside the city’s Stock Exchange – which had just cost £15,000 to restore.

The building, known as the Bourse, was reopened just a day before the incident on Sunday, following a three-year £77million restoration project.

Shocking video shows the man, who appears to be drunk, climbing up the statue, which is called ‘the hand with a torch’ and is one of two which flank the entrance.

Astonished crowds watched as he clambered on to the sculpture, which depicts a lion and a man holding a torch.

As he goes to dismount the artwork, he grabs on to it to steady himself, snapping the torch and what appears to be part of the arm off as he jumps to the ground.

Astonished crowds watched as he clambered on to the sculpture, which depicts a lion and a man holding a torch

Video taken of the incident on Sunday shows the man appearing to steady himself by holding onto the statue’s arm

The man is thought to have been intercepted by police in a nearby fast food restaurant soon after and arrested.

The Stock Exchange now wants to recoup the thousands in damages directly from the man, Belgian media reports.

Nel Vandevennet, who managed the restoration project, told outlet VRT NWS: ‘The repairs are going to cost a lot of money because the work will have to be done by real craftsmen.

‘It is listed heritage and there will be follow-up from the monuments and landscapes agency of the Brussels region.’

The torch and what appears to be part of the arm of the statue clatters to the floor as the man makes his way down

The tourist looks down as he realises he’s knocked part of the statue off

Pictures show the statue in a state of disrepair before it was restored. Now, it will need to be worked on again

The reopening of the landmark has been highly anticipated in the Belgian city, with guided tours being put on as tourists are welcomed back

Pictures show the erosion suffered by the stone statue before it was restored. Now, it will need to be worked on again.

‘We would like to carry out the repairs quickly, but it will surely take a few weeks or even months,’ said Vandevennet.

‘The whole building has only just been restored to its former glory, including the two lions which were in a bad way.

‘We thought the sculptures would enjoy greater respect. We just think it’s very sad this happened.’

The reopening of the landmark has been highly anticipated in the Belgian city, with guided tours being put on as tourists are welcomed back.

It is not the only attraction to have suffered damage from tourists this summer, with Rome’s Colosseum targeted by a holidaymaker in June.

Ivan Dimitrov, 27, who also goes by the name Ivan Hawkins, was caught on camera by an American tourist as he carved the words, ‘Ivan and Hayley 23’ into the brickwork with a set of keys.

Then in July, a 17-year-old Swiss girl was also caught carving into the walls of the ancient amphitheatre.

Australia 1-0 Denmark – Women’s World Cup LIVE: Latest as the Matildas and Danes exchange

admin — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 12:25:17 +0000

By Ollie Lewis For Daily Mail Australia

Updated: 08:20 EDT, 7 August 2023

Follow Mail Sport’s live blog as Australia and Denmark go head-to-head in the Women’s World Cup.

Aquis Exchange boss Alasdair Haynes is a markets maverick

admin — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 06:06:55 +0000

Alasdair Haynes still receives calls from time to time saying: ‘I saw you on TV.’ Nearly 40 years ago he was dancing in the background of Top of the Pops when Frankie Goes to Hollywood performed Relax – one of the most controversial pop songs ever. It seems like an unconventional route to Haynes’s current job.

Today, age 63 – and having survived Covid and cancer – he leads Aquis Exchange. Aquis operates a junior stock market aiming to challenge the might of the 300-year-old London Stock Exchange – or more specifically, its Alternative Investment Market (AIM) for smaller companies.

It may be less rock’n’roll than Top of the Pops, but Haynes is trying to make shares ‘sexy’. He wants some of the millions of people prepared to plough their money into the crypto craze to look at investing in stocks and shares, with a platform that makes it attractive for them to do so.

Haynes was in his early twenties and already working his way up the ladder as a foreign exchange dealer at Morgan Grenfell when he appeared on Top of the Pops in 1984. He had a relative who was a floor manager on the BBC TV show – which was essential viewing for millions of pop fans.

‘I got to dance on quite a few shows,’ Haynes recalls. ‘But Relax was played live and afterwards banned so that video clip has become an iconic moment for Eighties music. Unfortunately, the clip is played regularly and from time to time I still get calls saying I saw you on TV.’

Mystery man: Alasdair Haynes says he’s ‘the man you never heard of

Back in those days the City was a very different place. Drinking and smoking were ubiquitous and the Square Mile was unashamedly male-dominated. There was also a class divide. Haynes – who was starting work straight out of Wellington College – had a harrowing job interview where he had to overcome doubts over his suitability because he was an ex-public schoolboy.

He was desperate to work in Morgan Grenfell’s foreign exchange division, but most of the traders hailed from much humbler backgrounds. The statistics-mad teenager explained that he wanted the job because of his interest in gambling. There was yet another hurdle to leap with his interviewer. Haynes recalls: ‘He asked ‘do you drink?’.’ Haynes, who comes from a family with links to the Deuchars brewery empire, said: ‘Yeah. I’ve been known to do that.

‘They took me off to the Jampot, which is a well known drinking establishment in the City, and said we’ll give you an interview there.

‘My interview was drinking a bottle of white port which I’ve never drunk since – can’t stand the stuff ever since then. I managed to survive and struggle back to the office and they gave me the job.’

He added: ‘Today we look at whether you have a PhD in nuclear physics to be a trader. It’s the luckiest break I’ve ever had. I never looked back.’

Now he is fighting to get himself noticed by Ministers and officials. ‘I normally start conversations with, ‘I’m the man you never heard of, I run a company you’ve never heard of, but one in 20 transactions of all equities across Europe is done on this British success story called Aquis’.

‘We do over two billion [euros] a day. We’re the seventh largest exchange group in Europe.’

Haynes is referring to Aquis’s markets business – a subscription-based platform for trading in large and mid-cap stocks across Europe.

It also operates a business providing exchange technology around the world. And in London it runs its own stock exchange for trading equities and debt securities.

English wine maker Chapel Down and brewer Adnams are among the companies listed on the exchange, inherited from the previous operators of the licence.

But the focus for the future is on helping to grow the next generation of tech ‘unicorns’ – start-ups that are valued at more than a billion dollars.

Haynes argues that markets, which today commonly settle deals two days after the trade date, require a major shake-up to make them fit for the future.

A government taskforce is due to report by the end of next year on moving from two days to one, but Haynes thinks that in ten years’ time instantaneous settlements will be the norm.

‘We’re not going to have the systems that we have today,’ he insists. ‘We don’t in the blockchain environment and crypto- currency world.

Haynes expresses a frustration that nearly five million people in Britain owned cryptoassets last year, but there is comparatively little interest in shares. His children and their friends, he says, are trading cryptoassets on apps. His aim is to do the same for the stock market.

He points out: ‘If five million people can set up accounts and trade cryptocurrency then this country is prepared to take risks.

‘Make equities sexy. They must be an attractive asset class.’

Haynes says he worries that members of the ‘baby boomer’ generation, who came of age in the Eighties, have had the chance to build up wealth, but it will be much more difficult for young people in the modern world.

‘They’re going to have to invest in assets that are going to perform,’ he says. ‘For goodness sake don’t tell me that the future is that they’ve got to buy Bitcoin.

‘The future is that they’ve got to invest properly, wisely.’ Haynes says there needs to be a focus on modernising markets not just for trading in larger companies but also for SMEs – small and medium sized enterprises, the ‘real heart’ of the economy.

He says the Aquis bourse, which had 22 floats last year and has raised more than £320 million since it was launched just over two years ago, is ‘getting important capital out to scale-up businesses’.

Companies, he says, should be able to float earlier in their growth trajectory, and be able to use the stock market as a way of raising capital.

He backs wider efforts in the City and Whitehall to boost UK stock markets, but expresses frustration that too much of the focus has been on the disappointment of losing Arm, the Cambridge-based chip designer which chose to list in New York. Nowhere near enough attention is being given to small companies, he argues.

And he has a problem with the ambition expressed by City Minister Andrew Griffith to revive the ‘tell Sid’ share-buying frenzy of the Thatcher years, which was fuelled by the cut-price privatisations of the likes of British Gas and British Telecom.

‘Actually we don’t want Sid,’ he says. ‘That was a marketplace back in the Eighties where people were given an asset that was under- valued and you knew you were going to make money.

‘It’s not quite the same thing. Sid used an abacus and probably log tables with a slide rule.’

Haynes’s ambition has not been limited by recent health scares including a serious bout of Covid at the start of the pandemic. ‘I ended up in hospital,’ he says. ‘I was taken in an ambulance and couldn’t breathe – so it wasn’t funny in the first stages. My wife wasn’t allowed to join me. She was kept outside.

‘I had cancer, which I got through earlier this year. Happy to be very fit and healthy.’

During his latter illness, recovering and watching daytime TV, Haynes recalls thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life’.

‘The board when I came back said ‘Are you thinking of retiring?’

‘I said absolutely no way. I’m going to carry on here for ever.

‘I’ve seen what the other side is like and there are only so many Eggheads episodes you can watch. You’re going to have to fire me to get rid of me.’

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London Metal Exchange fires back in nickel legal row

admin — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 01:43:27 +0000

London Metal Exchange blasts lawsuit against its handling of last year’s nickel price surge which led to a trading suspension as having ‘no merit’

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter

Updated: 16:50 EDT, 18 June 2023

The London Metal Exchange (LME) has blasted a lawsuit against its handling of last year’s nickel price surge which led to a trading suspension as having ‘no merit’ ahead of a three-day court battle starting tomorrow.

The 146-year-old exchange is being sued by two trading firms, Elliott Associates and Jane Street Global Trading, who argue it unlawfully cancelled nickel trades during a chaotic episode on March 8, 2022.

Frantic: The exchange is being sued by two trading firms, who argue it unlawfully cancelled nickel trades during a chaotic episode on March 8, 2022

The LME acted after the nickel price more than doubled to over $100,000 per ton, prompting the exchange to suspend trading in the metal and void that day’s transactions.

The exchange said it acted to restore calm and avoid several clearing houses going into default, which would have caused ‘significant and systemic damage’ to metal markets.

An LME spokesman added that the complaint was based on ‘a fundamental misunderstanding’ and that all decisions were ‘lawful and in the interest of the market’.

Elliott and Jane Street argued the LME’s move had breached its own policies, favoured some traders and violated their right to ‘peaceful enjoyment’ of possessions.

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CAB Payments confirms plans to list on the London Stock Exchange

admin — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 13:30:25 +0000

CAB Payments confirms it WILL list on the London Stock Exchange following City disappointment after WE Soda scrapped UK share listing

The initial public offering for CAB Payments took take place as early as July
Earlier today WE Soda dealt London a blow by axing LSE listing plans

By Jane Denton For Thisismoney

Updated: 08:03 EDT, 15 June 2023

Business-to-business cross-border payments group CAB Payments Holdings has confirmed plans to launch on the London Stock Exchange this year.

A trend of businesses spurning London in preference of New York has accelerated this year, with global banking woes pushing the sum raised from UK listings down by 80 per cent in the first quarter, according to Ernst & Young figures.

WE Soda yesterday dealt another blow to the market after scrapping plans to list in London over disagreements over valuation.

Boost: CAB Payments Holdings has confirmed plans to launch on the London Stock Exchange this year

A final offer price is yet to be set for the CAB Payments listing but the initial public offering on London’s main market could take place as early as next month.

The offer will be comprised of a secondary sell-down of existing ordinary shares held by Merlin Midco Ltd and ‘certain’ other shareholders. The IPO will be targeted at institutional investors outside of the US.

The group said there had been ‘significant interest’ in a possible LSE float since it hinted at the move earlier this month.

Analysts previously estimated that the company could achieve a valuation of between £800million to £1billion.

Ann Cairns, chair of CAB Payments, said: ‘Bringing CAB Payments to the public market underscores our confidence in the business and its value generation potential, as well as our confidence in the UK as the home for innovative and growing global businesses, and cements CAB Payments as a preferred payments and forex partner for blue-chip companies transacting in emerging markets.

‘We have been pleased with the investor engagement so far and look forward to further discussing our value proposition with investors, based on our strong track record of profitable and cash generative growth that was built on the foundation of a well-invested technology platform, a compliance-first culture and robust governance frameworks, and a business model that delivers real economic development benefits to emerging markets.’

Barclays Bank and JP Morgan Chase and Co have been engaged as coordinators and sponsors for the IPO.

Claire Trachet, chief executive of business advisory Trachet, said: ‘Both global and UK businesses are still looking to list on the LSE, however, until economic conditions strengthen, and investor trust and appetite is restored, the city will continue to experience a largely inactive IPO market.

‘I think we will eventually see an increase in UK listings, but this won’t happen until inflation numbers stabilise and looming recession fears fade, lifting the curtain on what remains an uncertain economic outlook.

‘In the meantime, we’ve quickly moved into an environment where companies are seeking funding from private equity vehicles or strengthening their position through M&As.’

According to research by Proactive Investors, since the start of April, there have been over a dozen initial public offers, including four in the first few days of June.

In the secondary market, the research logged 20 fundraisers by existing listed companies in the last month for a total of just under £40million, the biggest of which was just over £6million, the smallest £250,000.

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CITY WHISPERS: Interest in LSE’s public-private exchange

admin — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 12:46:14 +0000

CITY WHISPERS: London Stock Exchange boss says there has already been interest from global firms wanting to join its public-private exchange

By Francesca Washtell, Financial Mail On Sunday

Published: 16:50 EDT, 3 June 2023 | Updated: 06:23 EDT, 4 June 2023

London Stock Exchange boss Julia Hoggett says there has already been interest from global firms wanting to join its public-private exchange – the first in the world.

According to Hoggett’s outline, it would function as a place where private firms could auction shares, similar to the mainstream market.

The plan is for the ‘Intermittent Trading Venue’ – essentially a halfway house between private markets and a listing – to be up and running by next year.

Signing on: Julia Hoggett says there has already been interest from global firms wanting to join the London Stock Exchange’s public-private exchange

The LSE is doing everything it can to boost the Square Mile and lure companies to its platforms after a series of high-profile snubs.

One crucial factor will help its marketing: a good name. Its initials ITV are obviously taken, so there’s a competition underway to find something snappy.

In the spirit of the competition to name the research ship ultimately called the RRS Sir David Attenborough, may we suggest Floaty McFloatface?

Megasteel pain

Further pain for the steel industry last week after the collapse of a bid for Wiltshire-based Megasteel from a company called, somewhat ironically, More Acquisitions.

The board of Megasteel had been bombarded with ‘abusive and threatening’ vitriol by people claiming to be More Acquisitions shareholders.

Megasteel pulled the plug after eight months of painstaking due diligence.

Whispers hears murmurings that this has raised more than a few eyebrows among small-cap followers.

Ocado top of most-shorted list

You win some, you lose some. Online grocer Ocado managed to avoid being demoted from the FTSE 100 in the latest reshuffle of the London Stock Exchange’s indexes.

British Land was booted out of the blue-chip club and into the mid-caps instead.

But Ocado has regained an unfortunate title, rising once again to the top of the list of the most-shorted stocks in London, according to data from the Financial Conduct Authority.

It was previously running in second place to Asos, which lost its place in the FTSE 250 in the reshuffle.

Asos’s shares have plunged this year, but a £75 million fundraising last month has put investors’ minds at ease and it is no longer among the top ten most-shorted shares.

Popularity brings scrutiny at Shein

Chinese firm Shein has risen rapidly to become the world’s most popular fast fashion brand. But with great popularity comes great scrutiny.

A Channel 4 documentary released last October shone a light on the long working hours and paltry wages of its factory workers in Guangzhou – which the company admitted and took steps to fix.

A new webinar – appealingly entitled Agile Supply Chain and the Future of the Fashion Industry – features Shein’s executive vice chairman Donald Tang.

Will the group outline how to overhaul the fast fashion industry? Probably not. We can but hope.

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exchange – Latest News

Moment Irish tourist damages statue outside Brussels Stock Exchange the day after it was

Moment Irish tourist damages statue outside Brussels Stock Exchange the day after it was unveiled following £15,000 restoration

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Australia 1-0 Denmark – Women’s World Cup LIVE: Latest as the Matildas and Danes exchange

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Aquis Exchange boss Alasdair Haynes is a markets maverick

London Metal Exchange fires back in nickel legal row

London Metal Exchange blasts lawsuit against its handling of last year’s nickel price surge which led to a trading suspension as having ‘no merit’

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CAB Payments confirms plans to list on the London Stock Exchange

CAB Payments confirms it WILL list on the London Stock Exchange following City disappointment after WE Soda scrapped UK share listing

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CITY WHISPERS: Interest in LSE’s public-private exchange

CITY WHISPERS: London Stock Exchange boss says there has already been interest from global firms wanting to join its public-private exchange

Megasteel pain

Ocado top of most-shorted list

Popularity brings scrutiny at Shein

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