Volatility on European and Asian markets sets off the Vix “fear index” August 21, 2015 A widely watched “fear index” jumped 16 per cent in intraday trading to 22.19 points amid increasing concern about a slowdown in China’s economy. A purchasing managers survey released early this morning showed China’s factories shrank at the fastest rate in almost six-and-a-half-years in August. The news has weighed on stock markets in Asia, Europe [...]
XpertHR survey: UK employees’ pay rises stuck at two per cent in the last three month to July August 21, 2015 UK pay rises stalled in the three months to July, with employers feeling unable, or seeing no need, to offer workers better deals. Basic pay awards in the three months to the end of July stood at two per cent, unchanged since April 2014, according to a survey by XpertHR. The XpertHR pay measure tracks the increase in pay [...]
Uber IPO? Leaked reports suggest Uber plans to go public within two years August 21, 2015 Ride-hailing app Uber could become a public company by early 2017, according to a leaked document intended for investors, reports news agency Reuters. A confidential document outlining a presentation intended for potential investors in the company’s Chinese arm UberChina revealed that the parent company is forecast to go public within 18-24 months. Speculation about the [...]
FTSE hits 2015 low as China stocks plummet after sharp contraction in manufacturing August 21, 2015 The FTSE 100 hit a new intraday low for 2015 this morning, falling as low as 6,328 points, after shock manufacturing figures from China pushed markets across the world lower. Figures published overnight showed Chinese factories contracted at their fastest pace in six and a half years in August. The Caixin/Markit purchasing managers' index for [...]
Public sector borrowing: Government finances show a July surplus for the first time since 2012 – these five charts show the state the UK’s finances are in August 21, 2015 Figures published this morning showed the government's finances moved into surplus for the first July since 2012, with public sector net borrowing showing a surplus of just under £1.3bn, a fall in borrowing of £1.4bn compared with the same period last year. That's partly down to tax receipts, which rose to £7.8bn in July, £1.2bn [...]
Unlimited upsides? Check. Too big to fail? Check. History tells us careful investors could be about to make millions in China August 21, 2015 The Chinese government could be forgiven if it now feels rather pleased with itself. After interventions including banning negative reporting on markets, threatening to prosecute short-sellers, and ordering companies to engage in share buybacks, it has succeeded in arresting a stock market crash – albeit with a few bumps along the way. Not many governments [...]
Google spins off life sciences to become own company under Alphabet with Andy Conrad as chief exec August 21, 2015 Google’s life sciences team is about to become a standalone company. Formerly part of the tech giant’s secretive research organisation Google X, the company has now confirmed speculation that it’s to be spun off into a company of its own under Alphabet. Co-founder Sergey Brin wrote in a blog post today that the goal would [...]
Gap reports yet another round of disappointing profits for Q2 August 21, 2015 American apparel retailer Gap reported a fall in quarterly profit for the second consecutive quarter yesterday. The company said that it had been hit by a stronger dollar, shipment delays and weak sales. The company said net income fell by more than a third to $219m (£140m) or 52 cents per share, in the second [...]
Disney stocks tumble: ‘Frozen’ film maker feels the cold from Bernstein note August 21, 2015 Disney has had its stock downgraded for the second time this week by a major Wall Street research firm on concerns of declining television subscriptions. Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger downgraded Disney to “Market Perform” from “Outperform”, saying the US television industry is entering a period of “prolonged structural decline”.
Greek debt crisis: Fears resurface over bailout deal as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigns August 21, 2015 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned last night, triggering another round of elections in Greece and calling into question the stability of the country’s latest bailout. Tsipras stepped down after just seven months in office, in which he battled with Greece’s creditors – including their Eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – [...]