CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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Business news: Euro slips, Amazon (AMZN) bans Visa (V) in UK

By Jenny McCall

13:57, 19 November 2021

A picture of the euro symbol
UK retail sales climbed by 0.8% in October - Photo: Shutterstock

Key points

  • Christmas has certainly come early for retailers as new data from the Office of National Statistics showed that UK retail sales climbed by 0.8% in October. This was helped by a pre-Christmas shopping surge, with toys, sports equipment and clothing stores among the main gainers.
  • Credit crutch: Online retailer Amazon has banned Visa card payments in the UK due to high fees, it was announced today. As a result of the ban, Visa’s shares slipped by over 5%.
  • The euro slipped on Friday, after Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said “we must not rush into a premature tightening,” cementing her dovish policy stance.
  • Borrowing decline: UK public sector borrowing fell in October. The Office for National Statistics said October’s public sector net borrowing rate was £200m less than a year ago.

Business and economic news

  • Halma (HLMA) – the UK-based and FTSE 100-listed producer of life-saving hazard-protection equipment – acquired Infinite Leap for $30m (approximately £22m).
  • Art and crypto: Two paintings from contemporary artist Banksy sold for over $12 million in the first Sotheby’s sale denominated in ether.
  • Housing boom: Higher pandemic lending margins and a surge in the UK housing market have helped Nationwide double its pre-tax profits to £853m for the last six months.
  • Stocks: Dow fell by 0.40% and S&P was down 0.12% at 12pm GMT. Nasdaq index futures hit a record level today, as investors looked to sectors of economic stability after a delay in voting on US President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion spending bill.  
  • Oil: Oil prices fell sharply toward $78 a barrel on Friday, driven by a fresh surge in Covid-19 cases in Europe.
  • Gold: Gold prices were flat on Friday as traders continued to be concerned over inflationary pressures.
  • Forex: In mid-morning trade, the euro fell 0.4% at $1.1327 against the US dollar. It also dropped 0.1% to £0.8412 versus the British pound and lost 0.2% to JPY129.60 against the Japanese yen.
  • Crypto: Bitcoin was down 3.56% and ethereum had dropped by 0.21% in afternoon trading.

What to watch today

  • It was announced on Friday that Chinese developer Evergrande Group will be removed from Hong Kongs Hang Seng China Enterprises Index.
  • US Transportation Department doled out nearly $1 billion in infrastructure grants as Biden prepares to dramatically boost funding on the nations roads, bridges, rail, transit and other projects.

Read more: Precious metals forecast: Interest rate hikes and the market

Markets in this article

BTC/USD
Bitcoin / USD
37817.45 USD
25.6 +0.070%
ETH/USD
Ethereum / USD
2048.59 USD
15.35 +0.760%
UK100
UK 100
7464.7 USD
37.7 +0.510%

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The difference between trading assets and CFDs
The main difference between CFD trading and trading assets, such as commodities and stocks, is that you don’t own the underlying asset when you trade on a CFD.
You can still benefit if the market moves in your favour, or make a loss if it moves against you. However, with traditional trading you enter a contract to exchange the legal ownership of the individual shares or the commodities for money, and you own this until you sell it again.
CFDs are leveraged products, which means that you only need to deposit a percentage of the full value of the CFD trade in order to open a position. But with traditional trading, you buy the assets for the full amount. In the UK, there is no stamp duty on CFD trading, but there is when you buy stocks, for example.
CFDs attract overnight costs to hold the trades (unless you use 1-1 leverage), which makes them more suited to short-term trading opportunities. Stocks and commodities are more normally bought and held for longer. You might also pay a broker commission or fees when buying and selling assets direct and you’d need somewhere to store them safely.
Capital Com is an execution-only service provider. The material provided on this website is for information purposes only and should not be understood as an investment advice. Any opinion that may be provided on this page does not constitute a recommendation by Capital Com or its agents. We do not make any representations or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the information that is provided on this page. If you rely on the information on this page then you do so entirely on your own risk.

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