Saudi Aramco IPO to be largest in history at $25.6bn December 5, 2019 Saudi Aramco is set to raise a record $25.6bn (£19.5bn) in the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, as it was reported that the oil giant would price its shares at 32 riyals (£6.50) per share, the top end of its range. The sale price will see Aramco knock Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba off [...]
Glencore shares tumble on Serious Fraud Office bribery investigation December 5, 2019 Shares in mining giant Glencore fell more than five per cent today after the company said it was being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). In a statement to the stock market, the company said: “Glencore has been notified today that the Serious Fraud Office has opened an investigation into suspicions of bribery in [...]
Opec and allies expected to deepen oil production cuts December 5, 2019 Oil producer group Opec has begun its two-day meeting in Vienna, with expectations that the cartel and its allies will deepen oil supply cuts next year. Opec+, a wider grouping that involves countries such as Russia, has curbed production by 1.2m barrels per day since 2017 in a bid to counter the rise of the [...]
Pound hits 31-month high against euro ahead of General Election December 5, 2019 The pound hit a 31-month high against the euro this morning as the Conservatives edged closer to victory in the 12 December General Election. The latest poll, from Savanta Com Res last night, put the Tories ten points ahead of Labour, boosting traders hopes’ that a Boris Johnson-led government would leave the European Union with [...]
Society doesn’t need any more unicorns December 5, 2019 In 2016, an American healthtech startup named Theranos completed what would be its final funding round, raising a jaw dropping $700m in investment. Just two years later, the company collapsed after a sensational scandal. The story of Theranos is bizarre. At one point, its paper valuation exceeded $9bn, and when the scandal broke, its founder [...]
Oil prices soar ahead of Opec meeting December 4, 2019 Oil prices shot up today ahead of Thursday’s Opec meeting, which is expected to yield an extension to oil production cuts. West Texas Intermediate rose 4.1 per cent to $58.4 a barrel, with Brent Crude up 3.9 per cent to $63.16 per barrel. Read more: Saudi Arabia pushing Opec for deeper oil production cuts Expectations [...]
BP faces complaint over ‘misleading’ ad campaign December 4, 2019 Environmental law charity Clientearth has accused BP of “misleading” the public regarding its low-carbon credentials with its multimillion pound advertising campaign. Yesterday the non-profit group lodged an official complaint under international guidelines regarding the campaign, which is BP’s first in 10 years. Read more: Spanish oil giant Repsol pledges to cut emissions to zero by [...]
GBP/USD: Sterling hits seven-month high as traders hope for Tory election victory December 4, 2019 The pound climbed to a seven-month high today as traders grew hopeful that the Conservatives would gain a majority at the upcoming General Election, bringing some certainty to the Brexit process. Sterling topped $1.306 this morning before falling back slightly. The GBP/USD exchange rate was 0.4 per cent higher by 10.15am at $1.304, a level [...]
Chinese power firm Sdic delays London listing on market conditions fears December 4, 2019 Leading Chinese power generation firm Sdic Power today announced it would delay listing 10 per cent of its shares as global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) due to “market conditions.” In a statement, the company said it “believes this is a prudent decision and is in the best interests of its existing [...]
Petrol prices fall for the fourth consecutive month in November December 4, 2019 Petrol prices fell for the fourth month in a row in November, with the average price of a litre of unleaded now 3.3p less than at the beginning of August. The average price for unleaded fell 0.48p to 125.93p, with diesel showing a similar drop in price from 130.27p to 129.83p, according to the RAC’s [...]