Chinese stocks plummet amid valuation fears June 29, 2015 China’s equity bubble edged closer to bursting yesterday, as stocks plummeted despite the best efforts of the country’s central bank to steady the market. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index closed 3.3 per cent lower to 4,053 and the Shenzhen Composite fell 6.1 per cent, amid mounting concerns that stocks are overvalued. The Shanghai Composite was [...]
Sainsbury’s Bank shops for new non-exec: Michael Ross takes on digital strategy June 29, 2015 Sainsbury’s Bank has gone shopping in the lingerie department for a new non-executive director and appointed the former chief executive of Figleaves.com to the board. Michael Ross will join with immediate effect and help develop its banking arm’s digital and data strategies, the retailer said yesterday. Ross founded the online lingerie retailer Figleaves in the [...]
Convenience retailers spend £177m on shops June 29, 2015 Convenience retailers spent £177m refurbishing their stores in the three months to May amid increased competition from their peers, coffee shops and food chains all vying for a bigger share of the food-to-go market. Britain’s booming convenience market is now worth over £37bn and consists of 50,000 stores – of which less than 2,500 are [...]
UK Oil & Gas share price drops as firm strikes farm-in deal with Edgon Resources June 29, 2015 Shares in UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) tumbled yesterday after the firm announced it has increased its interest in the Weald Basin, where the so-called Gatwick Gusher is located, through a farm-in agreement with Egdon Resources. UKOG has bought a 20 per cent interest in an onshore licence located to the immediate west of [...]
Allegion to pay €210m in offer for SimonsVoss June 29, 2015 Private equity house HgCapital Trust has agreed to sell its European locking systems business, SimonsVoss, to security products specialist Allegion, in a deal valued at €210m (£150m). SimonsVoss was founded in 1995, and generated sales of €52m in 2014. It employs around 275 people. Allegion employs almost 8,500 people and its products are sold in [...]
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras calls on Greeks to vote “no” to reforms June 29, 2015 Even if Greece votes against accepting the reforms put forward by creditors, it will not be pushed out of the Eurozone, according to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Read more: Jean-Claude Juncker says he feels "betrayed" by Alexis Tsipras During an interview televised on the Greek ERT channel on Monday night, he called on the [...]
S&P downgrades Greece and puts chances of Grexit at 50 per cent June 29, 2015 S&P has downgraded Greece's credit rating from CCC to CCC-, and says there is a 50 per cent chance it will leave the Euro. Read more: Greece will default on its €1.6bn repayment to the IMF tomorrow It made the change because it feels that, unless circumstances change, Athens will probably default on its [...]
Fracking: Cuadrilla’s plans rejected by Lancashire County Council in blow to UK’s fledgling shale gas industry June 29, 2015 Plans by Cuadrilla for excavating shale gas in Lancashire via the controversial method of fracking have been rejected by local authorities in a major setback for the UK's shale gas industry. The energy firm has been denied permission to frack at Preston New Road by Lancashire County Council, which last week made a similar decision on [...]
Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical sector gets a boost from London investors June 29, 2015 Afghanistan isn't known for its appeal to foreign investors, but one London-based private equity firm has seen its potential and poured money into a pharmaceutical company there. Read more: Abbvie just bought one of the best pharmaceutical investments ever InFrontier, which was set up specifically to look for investment opportunities in pre-emerging markets, has [...]
Airports Commission report: Heathrow or Gatwick runway expansion? A decision will finally be made on Wednesday June 29, 2015 We are finally going to find out the best way to accommodate the ever increasing number of people traveling to the UK by air. The long-delayed decision by Sir Howard Davies's Airports Commission on the best way to expand airport capacity will be revealed on Wednesday after a long and hard-fought battle between Heathrow and [...]