Private equity firm Cinven raises €10bn for latest buyout fund May 2, 2019 Cinven, the private equity owner of fashion giant Kurt Geiger, has raised €10bn (£8.59bn) for its latest buyout fund in less than four months. More than 180 investors from 30 countries took part in the fundraise, and the launch saw “significant support” from long-term investors. Read more: Shoe fits for Cinven as it takes home [...]
Shell ahead of expectations, but lower oil prices take chunk out of profits May 2, 2019 Shell comfortably beat expectations this morning, as profits only fell marginally despite taking a hit from lower global oil prices. The figures The oil giant said that on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, earnings attributable to shareholders and excluding identified items dropped to $5.3bn (£4.1bn). Read more: BP profits drop as weaker oil [...]
US stocks rise as ‘productive’ China trade talk round ends May 1, 2019 US stocks have climbed higher after markets opened following the end of another round of trade talks between the United States and China that treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin called “productive”. Mnuchin flew to Beijing on Tuesday with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer to hold discussions with their Chinese counterparts. Mnuchin today tweeted: “Ambassador Lighthizer and [...]
Neil Woodford’s billion-dollar baby turns four May 1, 2019 | City Talk By Dzmitry Lipski from interactive investor. Late last month, Woodford Patient Capital turned four. Having weighed in at launch at £800 million, making it the second-largest UK investment trust launch ever after Smithson Investment Trust, according to the AIC, Woodford's middle child has had some high-profile teething issues along the way. Total assets today stand at [...]
Uber: Is it worthy of the price tag? May 1, 2019 | City Talk Underwhelming or canny? Uber may have learned something from Lyft after it announced it will chase a lower market valuation than previously forecast when it lists next month. Nevertheless, for a company that is burning cash at the rate it does and with no obvious path to profitability, it’s still asking rather a lot from [...]
London Stock Exchange boosts income despite trading slowdown and signals improved listing environment May 1, 2019 The London Stock Exchange boosted income in the first three months of the year and said the listing environment had improved in the second quarter. The increase, five per cent up year-on-year to £546m, was led by its clearing and information services businesses. LSE said the performance came against a "challenging market backdrop." Read more: [...]
Sirius Minerals shares drop as it raises $425m for North Yorkshire mine May 1, 2019 Sirius Minerals today revealed it has exceeded its $400m (£306m) fundraising target, but its shares were priced at the lower end of expectations. The London-listed company, which is raising cash to build a fertiliser mine in North Yorkshire, raised $425m from a new share issue. Read more: JP Morgan backs Sirius Minerals $3.8bn financing package [...]
Warren Buffett backs Occidental with $10bn in takeover battle with Chevron April 30, 2019 US billionaire Warren Buffett signalled support for Occidental’s $38bn offer for rival Anadarko today by announcing he will invest $10bn in the oil company. Buffett’s investment company Berkshire Hathaway committed to the investment on the proviso that the deal with Anadarko would go ahead. Read more: Anadarko says it will talk to Occidental over $38bn [...]
Australian weather batters Glencore production guidance April 30, 2019 Mining giant Glencore today downgraded for its copper output estimates, as production at some mines are set to be hit by upgrade works. Copper production is expected at around 1.46m tonnes in the financial year, Glencore said, down from a previous 1.54m tonnes estimate. Read more: JP Morgan backs Sirius Minerals $3.8bn financing package for [...]
Some investors are clearly living in a parallel universe April 30, 2019 Having watched the phenomenal “Avengers: Endgame” this weekend (no spoilers here), I did take a moment to think about parallel universes. To put it bluntly, it doesn’t take a genius like Tony Stark to work out that many market commentators are living in a parallel universe – that is, they can’t remember what happened 20 [...]