Photos from MYK Capital Management Group SA's post

The third annual London FinTech Week #FTW16 took place from 16 to 22 July at London’s Grange Tower Bridge Hotel. The world of financial technology gathered for eight days of panels, exhibits and drinks. The opening weekend kicked off with a Blockchain Hackathon. Then, from Monday, a series of lectures, seminars, exhibitions and workshops began. London's fintech sector is the biggest in the world, earning 6.6 billion pound ($8.7 billion) in revenue in 2015. This beats California and New York. London’s access to pan-European, US and Asian investors, number of high-profile accelerator programmes and strong government advocacy for fintech have been instrumental in driving growth in fintech. Recent regulatory initiatives include a ‘regulatory sandbox’, implemented by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that allows businesses to test out new financial products and services without incurring all the normal regulatory consequences of engaging in those activities. Some have claimed that London’s reputation as the global headquarters of FinTech innovation may be under threat as the result of the recent EU referendum vote. This is the biggest concern faced by London based fintech startups today.

Half Right Is Half Wrong in Markets Impervious to Political Risk

Even if you could foresee the outcomes of recent global geopolitical events, would you have been able to predict where the market would be today? Would you have bet on the S&P 500 Index sitting at a record, global corporate bond yield premiums close to the narrowest in a year, or emerging-market currencies 8 percent above their January lows? The article talks about the futility of trying to make investment decisions based on geopolitical outcomes. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-20/half-right-is-half-wrong-in-markets-impervious-to-political-risk

Brexit Briefing: Theresa May — last woman standing - FT.com

The FTSE 100 burst into Bull Market moments before Theresa May was appointed to be the new leader of the Conservative party. May has promised to lead the UK out of the European Union as prime minister, rejecting proposals to ignore the referendum result. Many investors have welcomed this sudden outbreak of certainty in UK politics. Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says shares are also benefiting from expectations of an interest rate cut on Thursday. Here’s his take: ‘The Footsie has been tipped into a bull market by the emergence of Theresa May as Prime Minister, though the whiff of some loose monetary policy coming from the Bank of England this Thursday probably helped the index over the line too. The role played by the commodity behemoths should not be under-estimated either, these stocks are now trading at much higher prices than in the depths of the market in February. The Tories may be starting to get their house in order, but the stock market has hardly followed in the mould of the one-nation conservatism espoused by the party. There have been very divergent fortunes amongst the big blue chips, with some airlines, house builders and banks being left behind by the rest of the market.' https://next.ft.com/content/bc826c7a-475f-11e6-8d68-72e9211e86ab

Berlin bids to replace London as post-Brexit fintech capital - FT.com

Where's the next FinTech hub? https://next.ft.com/content/8958b02e-3f90-11e6-8716-a4a71e8140b0

Gold remains a popular Eid gift

Eid Mubarak! All our special wishes on this special day! After a month of fasting, praying and alms giving, Muslims around the globe welcome the end of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr celebration. This year's Ramadan has been extra difficult for many after several terror attacks in Muslim majority nations, such as Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Our heartfelt prayers and condolences to those affected by these terrible events. On a lighter note, one of the traditional and popular gifts for Eid is gold. Despite the recent increase in gold prices, the sales of gold in retail shops in UAE has recorded up to 40 per cent increase in gold jewellery sales. This may be a great time to buy gold. Some gold expert predicts that gold prices may hit all-time highs in the next 18 months amid low to negative global bond yields and Brexit. http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/society/gold-remains-a-popular-eid-gift-1.1857881

Soros Says Brexit Has ‘Unleashed’ a Financial-Markets Crisis

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has “unleashed” a crisis in financial markets similar to the global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, George Soros told the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday. #Brexit #FinancialCrisis #Soros http://bloom.bg/294zbId

Timeline Photos

London has worked hard to cultivate its reputation as the world’s #FinTech hub. However, #Brexit may topple it from its crowning position as uncertainty looms about new legal/regulatory structures, movement of talents and faltering investor confidence. Brexit is already forcing many of London’s brightest FinTech talents to reconsider their future elsewhere. Seven out of ten London-based FinTech companies have expressed their interest in moving their headquarters to other European cities according to recent interviews with Reuters. Opinions are not all doom and groom. Some believe Brexit can offer good opportunities for the UK FinTech sector if handled correctly. 1) Less red tape from EU regulations, 2) more trade opportunities from outside Europe, and 3) more freed-up resource (as a result of exiting EU membership) reinvested into FinTech are some of the reasons cited by those with more optimistic views. It will be long before all becomes clear. We monitor this sector patiently. http://www.wsj.com/articles/brexit-could-disrupt-fintech-business-1467019802

London Fintech Week 2016 – Fintech Innovation Conference & Exhibition

MYK has been actively following opportunities in the domain of FinTech in recent years. The financial services industry is facing a wave of digital disruptions that is reshaping the sector. The global investment in Fintech startups has skyrocketed from $2.4 billion in 2011 to over $19 billion. Trends toward mobile banking, blockchain technology, cyber security, machine learning, predictive behavioral analytics, data-driven marketing and crowdsourcing are creating opportunities for innovation and evolution of the financial industry. What’s the next big thing in FinTech? Find out more at London FinTech Week 2016 (https://fintechweek.com).

World Economic Forum

Jack Ma, a founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, faced many failures in life before his billion dollar success. Failure is a true mother of success. https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/videos/10153558685081479/

After Brexit, the race is on to replace London as Europe’s startup capital

The days of London being the startup capital of Europe may be over. The London startup scene is the biggest in Europe with 40% of Europe’s tech startups based in London. They benefit from experienced talent pool from everywhere in Europe. However, this will change with #Brexit and a possible end to the free movement of labour for EU citizens. Will the European talents and startups that considered moving to London now start moving to other European cities? The cities like #Berlin and #Dublin are already surging to the top of the global startup city list. http://qz.com/717626/after-brexit-the-race-is-on-to-replace-london-as-europes-startup-capital/

What Does Brexit Mean for Gold and Oil?

What does Brexit mean for gold and oil? Let's monitor how these movements will rebalance in the coming month. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-06-24/what-does-brexit-mean-for-gold-and-oil

#brexit spells tough times ahead for the UK and global economies.