Saudi Aramco IPO: UK-based consultancy firm said to land role in mega-float January 26, 2017 A UK-based consultancy firm was reportedly hired for work on what is expected to be the world’s largest-ever initial public offering (IPO). Gaffney, Cline & Associates (GCA), which is headquartered in Alton, Hampshire, was selected to assess Saudi Aramco’s crude oil reserves, the Wall Street Journal first reported. The audit is said to have now completed, [...]
Industrials firms are expected to make a comeback on Aim in 2017 January 26, 2017 Miners and oil and gas companies are expected to make a comeback on the junior flotation market in 2017, but realistic pricing and high quality prospects will be critical to their success, new research suggests. A much improved initial public offering (IPO) market is expected for industrials firms as commodity prices continue to rise, Alternative Investment Market [...]
Londoners invited to invest in Libya January 26, 2017 Libyan businessmen and governmental officials are in London today seeking investment in the country’s key industries. The Libya Reconstruction and Investment Forum is being held at Lancaster House, a government-owned mansion in St James’s operated by the Foreign Office. Oil, healthcare and infrastructure will be among the sectors where Libyans will be looking for foreign [...]
Europe’s Stoxx 600 hits highest point since December 2015 January 26, 2017 Stocks across Europe have risen as a cluster of mergers and a share in the Trump trade boosted investor sentiment. The Euro Stoxx 600, which tracks large companies from across Europe including the UK, hit its highest point in almost 13 months, after rising at its fastest rate since the day after Trump’s election on [...]
Weaker retail sales suggest the UK’s consumer spending engine could stall January 26, 2017 Retail sales fell in January in the UK, surprising analysts and adding to suspicions the consumer spending engine driving Britain’s growth may be about to sputter. Almost a third of retailers surveyed report a decline in sales volumes in January, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) distributive trades survey. While the decline comes [...]
Spain unemployment falls to lowest since 2009 January 26, 2017 Unemployment in Spain has fallen to its lowest point since 2009, as the economy continues its slow recovery. The jobless rate fell to 18.63 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016, capping a fall in unemployment of more than two percentage points over the year, according to Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE). This [...]
UK economy sees no Brexit downturn with two per cent growth in 2016 January 26, 2017 The UK ended 2016 on a high as economic growth in the last three months of the year showed little sign of a hit in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. The economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, beating economists’ expectations. This means the UK economy grew by two per cent [...]
I can’t help but worry about the potential for the mother of all house price crashes January 26, 2017 The year opened with alarming newspaper headlines in The Daily Telegraph on the risk of a global property price crash. How worried should we be in the UK? The ratio of house prices to incomes in the UK is close to the all-time high it reached before the financial crisis. If that ratio mean reverts over [...]
Novartis launches $5bn share buyback and mulls spin-off of eyecare business Alcon January 25, 2017 Novartis may spin off its struggling Alcon eye care business as it looks at ways to boost growth The Swiss drugmaker also plans to buy back up to $5bn (£4bn) of shares over the next year in a bid to return to growth by 2018. Alcon has slumped to a $120m loss as fourth-quarter sales dipped. Novartis could consider floating, [...]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average breaks 20,000 for the first time as the Trump trade continues January 25, 2017 The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has broken through the 20,000-point mark for the first time ever, crossing a symbolic line only a year after falling below 16,000. The index has surged over 2016, with the election of Donald Trump prompting a massive increase in US share prices in the last two months of 2017. [...]