JPMorgan-backed InvestCloud buys London fintech Babel for $20 million
A London software company that helps process trades for wealth managers and stockbrokers has been snapped up by Californian fintech InvestCloud for $20 million (£16.4 million). Babel Systems, founded in 2008, helps with middle and back office processing of equities, bonds, and funds, and works with the likes of robo-advisor Nutmeg. The company’s founders and angel investors have spent around £6 million developing its product. Los Angeles-headquartered InvestCloud, founded in 2010, builds software for finance companies to help their interactions with clients online. JPMorgan is one of over 600 customers and the investment bank took and undisclosed stake in the business last September. It has raised over $100 million (£41.1 […]
Here’s why Trump’s win boosted Bitcoin
As Trump’s electoral victory became clear, global markets plunged into volatility. Dow Jones stock futures dropped by 3.8% in premarket trading, S&P futures by 3% overnight, and Nasdaq futures by almost 5%. All major European indices dropped by 2%, on average. The price of bitcoin, however, surged around 4% to reach highs of $738.33 overnight. The cryptocurrency saw similar gains in June after the Brexit vote, suggesting that investors are increasingly turning to bitcoin in times of political and economic uncertainty. There are a number of reasons why bitcoin proves attractive in these circumstances: It’s an alternative asset. Alternative assets are non-traditional assets — other examples include precious metals and […]
