A new calculator has been launched showing investors how much they could have earned from cryptocurrency by holding onto it from 2020.

The platform has been created by Forex Suggest using the recorded value of cryptocurrencies to reveal how much each digital asset has either risen or fallen in value over the last two years.

The data reveals that Solana has seen the biggest increase in value since 2020, rising by more than $25 – an uplift of almost 98%. Dogecoin has seen the second biggest return on value(95.4%), and Polygon the third (95%).

Flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin has increased by 61.20%, from just over $9,000 per coin to more than $24,000.

The Bank of England’s decision to further raise interest rates from 1.25 per cent to 1.75 per cent and its two-year predictions means bad news for investors and UK residents alike.

And the pain is far from over. A top City analyst expects this to further rise to 2.25 per cent in September.

Other than adjusting the interest rates to the accurate level to keep abreast of import inflation, the economic projections for the UK paint a bleak outlook for the next two years.

The Bank explained that the rise in interest rates was necessary due to external pressures which are expected to persist.

This means that British firms and residents will continue to feel this weight reflected in rising domestic prices, wages outpaced by soaring inflation, and even higher mortgage repayments, despite the Bank’s attempt to widen the borrowing pool through less restrictive mortgage rules.

Although historic, the Bank’s decision was not a surprise for...

Managing money is a key skill that is essential for adult life. Financial education therefore has the potential to equip young people with the confidence and skills they need to build their futures, open the door to a world of opportunities and transform their lives.

However, the level of financial capability in the UK is falling short of where it should be. In fact, just 38 per cent of children receive some form of financial education in school and according to the Money and Pensions Service, 67% of young people admit they don’t feel confident in planning for their financial future.

With research showing that children’s mindsets around money are being developed by the age of seven years, it’s crucial we start teaching them about money early. We can’t rely on schools to do this on their own – parents and carers play a key role – particularly when 91% of children turn to their parents for money advice. Informal educators and other organisations...

John Lewis head Dame Sharon White has urged the government to encourage lockdown retirees back into work to avoid stagflation. 

The retail chief warned that ministers should address labour shortages in order to prevent the economic situation from worsening, in an interview with BBC on Tuesday morning.

“There’s not a business in the UK that’s not finding it very difficult to recruit at the moment,” she said, pointing to a huge gap in vacancies and people searching for work.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like the economic environment we have at the moment,” she said.

A looming concern for the country was “inflation combined with low growth, low productivity,” Dame White said. “So I think the big focus for all of us is how do we avoid stagflation?”

Businesses must start investing in order to “avoid the UK becoming Japan with very low, very persistently low rates of productivity and very low persistent rates of growth,” she...

The British athletics coach credited with guiding Jessica Ennis-Hill to the top of the sport, Toni Minichiello, has been banned for life after being found guilty of sexually inappropriate behaviour.

Minichiello “dry humped” athletes, touched and made comments about their breasts and told one female athlete she could “suck my ****”, a UK Athletics investigation concluded.

The 56-year-old also engaged in emotional abuse and bullying, including making one athlete sit in the corner with a cone on her head as a dunce’s cap, the panel found.

Minichiello’s coaching licence expired during the course of the investigation and UK Athletics said it would “not entertain any future application made by Mr Minichiello… in perpetuity”.

“UKA has considered the matter and decided that these findings are of the utmost seriousness,” the governing body said. 

“They amount to a large number of breaches of the UKA Coach Licence Terms over a 15 year...

NAIROBI – It’s D-Day in Kenya: after two years of campaigning, planning and plotting, voting is underway. where an opposition leader backed by the outgoing premier faces the deputy president who styles himself as the outsider and a “hustler”.

Polls across the country opened at 6am local time this morning, with more than 22m registered voters able to endorse their favourite candidates in 46,232 polling stations across Africa’s third largest economy.

The election is considered close and East Africa’s biggest economic hub could see a presidential run-off for the first time.

Economic issues such as widespread corruption could be of greater importance than the ethnic tensions that have marked past votes with sometimes deadly results.

The Bank of England’s decision to further raise interest rates from 1.25 per cent to 1.75 per cent and its two-year predictions means bad news for investors and UK residents alike.

And the pain is far from over. A top City analyst expects this to further rise to 2.25 per cent in September.

Other than adjusting the interest rates to the accurate level to keep abreast of import inflation, the economic projections for the UK paint a bleak outlook for the next two years.

The Bank explained that the rise in interest rates was necessary due to external pressures which are expected to persist.

This means that British firms and residents will continue to feel this weight reflected in rising domestic prices, wages outpaced by soaring inflation, and even higher mortgage repayments, despite the Bank’s attempt to widen the borrowing pool through less restrictive mortgage rules.

Although historic, the Bank’s decision was not a surprise for...

Weak results from the UK’s largest companies amid the quieter summer period weighed on market sentiment today.

The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index edged 0.03 per cent lower to 7,480.26 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, fell 0.12 per cent to 20,095.09 points.

A string of soft earnings published this morning dimmed investors’ appetite for risky assets.

Fund manager Abrdn swung to a loss in the first six months of this year, driven by traders fleeing stock markets to avoid being burnt by sharp swings in asset prices.

That announcement sent its shares down nearly five per cent and to the bottom of the FTSE 100.

The firm, alongside another money manager Hargreaves Lansdown, yesterday was among the biggest risers on the premier index.

Office space provider and FTSE 250-listed IWG slumped to the depths of the mid-cap index despite posting a 22 per...

Investors might be forgiven for sipping a small glass of something to settle the nerves over the past few months.

Soaring inflation, rising interest rates and the ripples of war in Ukraine have combined to batter stocks that just last year looked like sure-fire winners, leaving even some of the most seasoned market sages nursing heavy losses. Growth firms which promised ‘jam tomorrow’ have plunged in value and punters have scrambled for steadier ground in ‘old economy’ stocks and perceived safe haven assets like gold.

And amid that scramble, reaching for the bottle has taken on a different meaning for many.

The Liv-Ex Fine Wine 100, which tracks the price movement of 100 of the most sought-after fine wines, has delivered 18.7 per cent of returns in the past 12 months. 

The FTSE-100 meanwhile has climbed around 4.91 per cent in the same period, and gold – the traditional steady store of value at times of economic turmoil – is trading at...

Citizens Advice has urged suppliers not to chase customers for debts they cannot afford – with household energy bills expected to climb to painful new heights this winter.

Gillian Cooper, head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, urged the Government and energy firms to do more to help customers.

She told City A.M.: “The government must act again and provide more financial support so people can cope with spiralling costs. We’d also urge energy companies to do everything they can to help customers and not chase them for debts they can’t pay.”

The policy chief also warned customers against not paying their energy bills, as this could worsen financial issues and lead to enforcement action from suppliers.

Cooper revealed that the charity hears from people every single day facing desperate choices because they’re struggling to afford their energy usage.

She said: “Many are simply running out of options. But it’s important to know that...

The UK’s Big Six energy firms have encouraged worried customers to make contact with them as soon possible, so that they can talk through potential ways to ease the burden of painful price hikes to their energy bills this winter.

EDF, EON, Octopus Energy, Scottish Power, Ovo Energy and British Gas owner Centrica told City A.M. they understood how concerned customers will be about rising living costs, and that many people could be left struggling to pay their bills this winter in the coldest months of the year, when demand is at its peak.

The six firms are home to over 30m customers combined, representing over 70 per cent of the market.

An EDF spokesperson said: “We strongly recommend customers to contact us if they are worried about paying for their bills. We have a comprehensive support package which ensures we are able to provide sustainable solutions tailored to individual needs.”

An EON spokesperson said: “We know these are...

The Bank of England’s decision to further raise interest rates from 1.25 per cent to 1.75 per cent and its two-year predictions means bad news for investors and UK residents alike.

And the pain is far from over. A top City analyst expects this to further rise to 2.25 per cent in September.

Other than adjusting the interest rates to the accurate level to keep abreast of import inflation, the economic projections for the UK paint a bleak outlook for the next two years.

The Bank explained that the rise in interest rates was necessary due to external pressures which are expected to persist.

This means that British firms and residents will continue to feel this weight reflected in rising domestic prices, wages outpaced by soaring inflation, and even higher mortgage repayments, despite the Bank’s attempt to widen the borrowing pool through less restrictive mortgage rules.

Although historic, the Bank’s decision was not a surprise for...

Legal & General, one of the UK’s oldest financial services firms, has weathered the country’s worsening economic climate, having declared £2.5bn of dividends since 2020.

The London-headquartered company, which offers pensions, life insurance and investment services, has navigated financial and economic crises in the UK for more than 180 years.

Legal & General, which also operates in the US, today reported operating profit growth of eight per cent, securing £1.16bn in the first half of this year, up from £1.07bn in the same period last year.

Profit after tax also jumped by eight per cent, the equivalent of £90m, to £1.15bn.

The financial services giant boasted that it has continued its 13-year long streak of no defaults.

Meanwhile, the group shrank its net debt costs by 10 per cent, from £120m to £108m in the first six months of the year.

The City titan has, since 2020, also snagged £4.3bnworth of cash generation and...

The bus cuts proposed by Transport for London (TfL) will lead to personal security concerns for Londoners – especially for women, people of colour and disabled people. 

According to watchdog London TravelWatch, the planned cuts will force one in five Londoners to change buses in the middle of the night, moving to an altogether different bus stop in some cases. 

“Some night buses only run every 30 minutes, so if you have to change buses, in some cases at a completely different bus stop, it raises huge concerns around personal safety,” commented the watchdog’s chief executive Emma Gibson. 

“Many of the bus stops that we visited didn’t have a shelter or a countdown screen telling you when your next bus will be coming. Which only increases feelings of vulnerability in the middle of the night.”

Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s director of public transport service planning, said the changes will minimise waiting times, “while lighting,...

Just under £300bn has been wiped off the value of UK corporate bonds since the start of this year following a major sell-off in the bond market in what is considered the biggest collapse in two decades.

In the first six months of this year, the total outstanding value of UK corporate bonds has fallen by 13.3% from £2.237 trillion to £1.940 trillion, a fall of £297.5 billion.

This compares to a fall of 3% for the FTSE100 over the same period, digital asset manager Collidr told City A.M. this morning.

Bond prices have been hit by rising interest rates and rising inflation since the start of the year, in response to central banks tightening monetary policy to control inflation.

Collidr’s research shows that £283.8bn has also been wiped off the value of Gilts (UK government bonds) since the start of the year.

Gilts have fallen by 14.8%, the biggest drop since the 1980s.

The collapse in bond prices has been a major challenge for...

Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group has seen group profit more than double versus 2021 after a recovery in demand for travel.

The London-listed firm said it was also reintroducing an interim dividend at a level 10 per cent higher than when last paid and launching an initial $500m share buyback.

Revenue for the first half of the year hit $1,794m, compared to $1,179m in the same period in 2021.

What’s more, operating profit for the year stood at $361m, versus $138m the year prior. 

“We saw continued strong trading in the first half of 2022 with increased demand for travel in most of our markets,” Keith Barr, chief executive officer for IHG Hotels & Resorts, said.

He added: “This brought group RevPAR very close to pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter. Alongside leisure stays, the return of business and group travel demand continued to build over the period, and our hotels are seeing increased pricing power due...

The UK’s Public Audit Forum (PAF) has opened a consultation on revising the guidance on auditing public sector entities.  

The PAF, a consortium of the UK’s four national audit agencies, are calling on auditors and other stakeholders to offer their views on plans to amend Practice Note 10, which provides guidance on auditing public sector bodies.

The consultation will seek views on the plans for various updates to Practice Note 10’s guidance that could see new guidance around materiality thresholds and ethical standards, with a view to aligning the guidance for public sector auditors with standards used elsewhere.

The consultation comes after Practice Note 10 was last updated in 2020 to better align the guidance with that set out under the International Standards on Auditing (ISA).

Oliver Simms, Manager, public sector audit and assurance at ICAEW, said: “As public sector bodies deal with significant challenges from rising costs to...

The price of Bitcoin continues to hover at around $24k, dropping just 1.38 per cent over the past 24 hours to $23,810 this morning. Ether followed a similar pattern, settling at just below $1,800 at $1,773 – roughly flat since this time yesterday. 

Other major cryptocurrencies spent much of yesterday firmly in the green but have dropped back slightly since then. The crypto markets continue to look stronger than traditional stocks, with the tech heavy Nasdaq falling 0.1 per cent yesterday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 0.1 per cent.

The main topic of conversation continues to be inflation, with Elon Musk yesterday speculating on Twitter that the worst could now be behind us. Will he be proven correct?

‘Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’ As the sun sets on the internal combustion era, it seems car manufacturers have taken the words of Dylan Thomas to heart.

The recent flurry of special-edition supercars includes the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS, Lamborghini Huracan STO, Ferrari Daytona SP3 and Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

All have outrageous petrol engines – and not a future-proofed electric motor in sight.  

The UK Government should treat the cost-of-living crisis with a “wartime mentality” and issue an energy bill “furlough”, according to the Liberal Democrats.

The party’s Scottish leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, made the call on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Tuesday.

“Families right across Scotland, and indeed the UK, will be looking towards the coming October with trepidation and fear, because they’re going to see their bills go up again by as much as 70%,” he said.

Mr Cole-Hamilton suggested the Government could assist households with managing costs by cancelling the planned price cap increase.

In doing so, it would “absorb” the cost and “take the hit” by paying the estimated £36 billion cost itself, he said.

Such funding would become available via a “meaningful” windfall tax, additional VAT generated through current inflation levels, and making use of headroom resulting from less borrowing than was previously anticipated,...

Just under £300bn has been wiped off the value of UK corporate bonds since the start of this year following a major sell-off in the bond market in what is considered the biggest collapse in two decades.

In the first six months of this year, the total outstanding value of UK corporate bonds has fallen by 13.3% from £2.237 trillion to £1.940 trillion, a fall of £297.5 billion.

This compares to a fall of 3% for the FTSE100 over the same period, digital asset manager Collidr told City A.M. this morning.

Bond prices have been hit by rising interest rates and rising inflation since the start of the year, in response to central banks tightening monetary policy to control inflation.

Collidr’s research shows that £283.8bn has also been wiped off the value of Gilts (UK government bonds) since the start of the year.

Gilts have fallen by 14.8%, the biggest drop since the 1980s.

The collapse in bond prices has been a major challenge for...

With credit card borrowing growing at its fastest pace since 2005, new analysis shared with City A.M. this morning shows that last month average rates on credit cards hit their highest level since 1998.

An analysis of the Bank of England’s quoted household interest rate figures uncovered that average credit card rates jumped 0.23 percentage points from June to hit 21.66 per cent in July – the highest average monthly rate since December 1998 (22.19 per cent).

The data, shared by digital lender marketplace  Freedom Finance, further showed that rates for £10k personal loans also rose in July to 4.18 per cent – a six-year high.

Moreover, rates for a £5k personal loan also ticked up by 0.07 percentage points to 8.27 per cent in July, a four year-high.

More than 1,500 London homes have been brought back into public ownership over the past year, under London mayor Sadiq Khan’s Right to Buy-back scheme.

The scheme, announced last July, aims to boost the capital’s supply of council homes, giving 14 boroughs access to £15m to buy back properties which have been – or will be – converted into affordable housing.

It comes as house prices and rental costs in London continue to rise, colliding with a cost of living crisis which has significantly dialled back Brits’ spending power.

“For more than 40 years, London’s precious council homes have been disappearing into the private sector, often never to be replaced,” said Khan. “These homes were built for the public good… Returning these homes to public ownership is a key part of my plan to build a better London for everyone.”

It forms part of Khan’s plan to start building 20,000 new council homes for Londoners by 2024.

Khan added that, under his...