Alibaba IPO: E-commerce giant’s shares jump on blockbuster Hong Kong debut November 26, 2019 Alibaba, the Chinese online retail giant, has enjoyed a surge in its share price after floating on the Hong Kong stock exchange, in one of the year’s most hotly anticipated Initial Public Offerings. The firm, which is already listed in the US, raised around £8.8bn in its secondary listing, with chairman Daniel Zhang cheering on [...]
Green Bonds vs. Traditional Bonds November 26, 2019 | City Talk Are environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing returns higher, lower, or the same as those of comparable traditional investments? This question is the source of constant debate. Because ESG investing integrates non-traditional sources of risk that are not always priced by the market, some theorize that ESG approaches might generate higher returns than traditional assets. Contrasting green and non-green [...]
National Grid pays $35m penalty but avoids losing New York license November 25, 2019 National Grid has reached an agreement with New York state to end its supply moratorium for customers in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, a day before governor Andrew Cuomo’s deadline to do so. The company will also make $7m (£5.4m) available to assist customers affected by the moratorium, as well as committing $28m more for [...]
Mitsubishi beats Shell to purchase of Dutch energy supplier Eneco November 25, 2019 Dutch energy supplier Eneco this morning confirmed that it would be acquired by a Mitsubishi-led consortium for €4.1bn (£3.5bn). The deal will give Mitsubishi 80 per cent of the company, with fellow Japanese power firm Chubu taking the remaining 20. Read more: Shell picks Citi bank for $1bn sale of Egyptian oil assets The group [...]
BHP becomes largest shareholder in Ecuador-focused Solgold November 25, 2019 BHP will become the largest shareholder in Ecuador-focused mining company Solgold, with approximately 14.7 per cent of the firm’s share capital. The Anglo-Australian company will raise its stake from 11 per cent by purchasing 77m new shares for $21.9m (£17.1m) for 22.2p. Read more: Anglo Australian miner BHP appoints new global chief executive Shares in [...]
Labour policies could cause run on sterling, says think tank Cebr November 25, 2019 A Labour government could cause a run on the pound due to market fears over the party’s stewardship of the economy, a leading economic think tank has said. Douglas McWilliams, director of the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), called Labour’s plans to raise £83bn a year through higher taxes by 2023-24 “improbable”. Read [...]
Coal powered generation set for record fall in 2019 November 25, 2019 Global coal-fired electricity generation is on track for its biggest fall on record in 2019, with production expected to fall by around 3 per cent, according to a new report. This is equivalent to a reduction of around 300 terrawatt hours, which is more than the combined total output from coal in the UK, Germany [...]
What is microfinance and why does it matter for investors? November 25, 2019 | City Talk Exclusion from the financial system is widely regarded as a major obstacle to people’s efforts to grow out of poverty. In 2017, 1.7 billion adults across the globe had no access to a bank account, with the vast majority of them living in emerging and frontier markets. 56 per cent of these were women, and [...]
FTSE 100 jumps on US-China trade war optimism as Tory polling boosts pound November 25, 2019 The FTSE 100 rose more than almost half a per cent higher today as China signalled it is willing to bring an end to its prolonged trade war with the US. Meanwhile sterling jumped 0.3 per cent higher as the latest election polls put the Tories on track to win a majority in December’s election. [...]
Hopes of US-China trade deal boost Asian stocks amid Hong Kong local elections November 25, 2019 Asian stocks rallied slightly overnight, as investors hoped for progress in the trade war between the US and China. It comes in part as a reaction to comments by US national security adviser Robert O’Brian over the weekend, that an initial – or so called phase one – trade agreement with China is still possible [...]