DuPont and Dow Chemical agree to $130bn merger December 11, 2015 DuPont and Dow Chemical are merging, the two companies have confirmed. In a statement, the American chemical firms said their boards of directors had “unanimously approved” the deal, which is worth $130bn (£86bn) and will result in the creation of DowDuPont. It is an all-stock merger of equals, which means shareholders in each company will own approximately 50 per [...]
Ford invests billions in electric vehicles as it adds 13 new electric vehicles to its line December 11, 2015 Ford has just announced a major investment into electric cars, aiming to have 13 new models hit the roads by 2020. The American automaker announced a $4.5bn (£3bn) investment in electric vehicles, the largest-ever investment in the eco-friendly solution in a five-year period. That means that by 2020, the company will be adding 13 new electric-powered [...]
International Personal Finance’s share price in freefall after warning on Slovakian legislation December 11, 2015 International Personal Finance's (IPF) share price tanked this morning, leading the FTSE 250 lower, after warning that it could be hurt by new legislation in Slovakia. Shares slid 22.36 per cent to 250.5p in mid-morning trading, while the index was down 0.79 per cent to 16,945 points. Read more: FTSE 100 opens down on Sports Direct and Old Mutual [...]
FTSE 100 index opens down as Sports Direct and Old Mutual share price woes continue December 11, 2015 The FTSE 100 index opened down this morning as Sports Direct and Old Mutual extended losses, the day after both companies shed over 10 per cent of their share prices. The UK's top blue-chip index was down 0.18 per cent at 6,076 points. Sports Direct's share price was down 2.5 per cent as the market opened, falling to 577.75p per share, [...]
Legal & General to end quarterly reporting December 11, 2015 Asset manager Legal & General announced it will end quarterly reporting next year, to focus on the long-term interests of the company. "The board feels the decision will enhance its communications with investors and other stakeholders, as it will allow the company to better articulate Legal & General's business strategies and the long-term dynamics of its [...]
FTSE 100 closes down as Sports Direct struggles – London Report December 11, 2015 Gains for Glencore couldn’t keep the FTSE 100 up last night as both Sports Direct and Old Mutual fell hard. The index closed 0.63 per cent down at 6,088. Sports Direct slumped after Mike Ashley’s retailer posted poor first-half results and the company was criticised for staff conditions. Group revenue ticking up 0.1 per cent [...]
Unilever, Brewin Dolphin, PZ Cussons: Best of the Brokers for 11 December 2015 December 11, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com Unilever has been given a “buy” rating by analysts at Shore Capital, on a current share price of 2,792p. It following Unilever’s annual investor event for 2015 focusing on the economically diverse South East Asia and Australasia regions. Analysts reckon the “vibrancy and [...]
John Lewis sales suffer post-Black Friday hangover but sales are still up year-on-year December 11, 2015 After reporting record-breaking numbers over Black Friday, John Lewis today said that it saw a double-digit drop in sales last week. Sales fell 11.8 per cent to £165.6m compared with the last week of November, although the number is still up 13.6 per cent on the same week last year. This is in stark contrast [...]
Companies flock to London to float on stock market after its bumper year of IPOs December 11, 2015 Companies have been coming to London in droves to bring their companies to market, according to accountants at PwC. London’s stock market was found to be the most active exchange in Europe in 2015, with just over £11.5bn raised through 84 initial public offerings (IPOs). London also became home to three of the biggest IPOs of [...]
Sports Direct share price drops by 10 per cent as growth slows and questions mount over working conditions December 10, 2015 Discount sports retailer Sports Direct has had one of its worse days on record, with its share price closing down over 10 per cent last night, wiping hundreds of millions of its market capitalisation. The sell off was due to a double whammy of missing analyst expectations for growth and further questions over staff working [...]