City looks to end of year float flurry as companies prepare IPOs October 15, 2015 London flotations are bouncing back as investor confidence returns to the market, with a pipeline of new listings expected before Christmas. Initial public offerings (IPOs) were in short supply during the summer, with China’s slowing economy triggering global stock market mayhem and a sharp downturn in investor morale. But yesterday, McCarthy and Stone, which builds [...]
LinkedIn’s Project Voyager: Finally, LinkedIn’s app is getting a major makeover for mobile October 14, 2015 LinkedIn has made some major improvements to its mobile app designed to attract users who are increasingly turning to their smartphone over desktop computers to connect with contacts and find jobs. Inspired by the popularity of messaging apps, LinkedIn's familiar inbox feature used for communicating with others on the professional network will now work as [...]
BlackRock sees net inflows of $50bn despite difficult market conditions October 14, 2015 BlackRock reported third quarter net inflows of $50bn (£32bn), despite hefty outflows from investors in the Asia-Pacific region amid difficult market conditions. Volatility in stock and bond markets resulted in net outflows of $7.5bn from clients in the Asia-Pacific region, which partially offset inflows from investors in the Americas. Assets under management at September 30 [...]
E.On to sell Norwegian oil and gas assets to firm owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman October 14, 2015 German utility giant E.On is selling its Norwegian oil and gas assets to a company owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman for $1.6bn (£1.04bn), as part of its ongoing restructuring plan for its oil and gas division. The blue-chip firm, whose UK supply arm is one of the big six energy providers, saw its share price [...]
Cain Hoy and Sager secure loan for £400m luxury Islington scheme October 14, 2015 Cain Hoy, the US private equity firm that fleetingly considered buying Tottenham Hotspur last year, is pushing ahead with the £400m luxury development of a landmark Islington site after securing a £190m loan. Cain Hoy and its joint venture partner Sager Group are turning the Edwardian former Royal Mail sorting office on Upper Street into a residential, [...]
German drugs giant Merck launches makeover to differentiate from US competitor October 14, 2015 German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA is re-branding itself in order to stand out against competitors. By re-designing its logo and altering its business structure, it hopes to have a greater claim over the “Merck” brand. Everywhere outside the North America, where US company Merck & Co has dominance over the Merck name, it is ditching [...]
Standard & Poor’s says Wall Street’s banks are leaving European rivals behind October 14, 2015 As the Wall Street banks report quarterly results this week, Standard & Poor's has released a report showing US investment banks are leaving their European partners trailing in the dust. Since the recession, the UK's banks such as RBS and Barclays, have scaled back their investment operations leaving their American rivals like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and [...]
Apple faces £595m patent bill after losing lawsuit over microchip used in iPhone 5S, 6, 6S and iPad October 14, 2015 It looks like Apple has borrowed its microchip design from a university. The University of Wisconsin-Madison just successfully sued the tech giant over a chip patent that it developed in 1998, and Apple has been using in devices like the popular iPhone 6 without permission. Apple now faces a £595m patent bill after losing the [...]
Twitter share price rises as it names Google’s Omid Kordestani as new executive chairman October 14, 2015 Twitter announced the appointment of its new executive chairman true to form, with a tweet: https://twitter.com/twitter/status/654281217932554241 The company has appointed former Google executive Omid Kordestani, who added (also in a tweet): Excited to work with @jack, the Twitter Board, @adambain, @anthonynoto and the rest of the team to grow @twitter’s impact and business. It’s rare you get to [...]
N Brown share price rises as Simply Be and Jacamo owner says turnaround on track October 14, 2015 Shares in N Brown rallied this morning as the home shopping group said efforts to turnaround the business and draw a line under the past year’s woes were paying off. The catalogue and online retailer, which caters for older and larger shoppers through brands such as Simply Be and Jacamo, posted a 15.9 per cent fall [...]