City prepares for Merlin Entertainments results magic show February 12, 2014 Merlin Entertainments is set to announce its maiden set of results on 27 February since its successful return to the market in November, sparking a flurry of analyst notes this week predicting good things from the Alton Towers owner. In a note from Deutsche Bank, analysts have restated a “buy” recommendation and target price [...]
Energy networks to face MP grilling February 12, 2014 Energy suppliers could breathe a (brief) sigh of relief today as the Energy and Climate Change Committee’s latest inquiry isn’t about them. As the public furore into rising energy bills rumbles on, the committee of MPs is now looking into energy network costs, which regulator Ofgem estimates make up around 23 per cent of a [...]
Flappy Bird’s earnings pale in comparison with these big players February 12, 2014 When Flappy Bird creator Nguyen Ha Dong revealed he was making over $50,000 (£30,250) a day from the game, before he removed it from distribution, pundits were certainly shocked. But the smartphone App Store gold rush, those are rookie numbers compared to some larger game makers. Supercell, behind both Hay Day (the eighth highest grossing [...]
Morrisons shares are buzzing on this takeover rumour February 12, 2014 Morrisons shares jumped over five per cent this morning on rumours that the founding family is planning to take the company private. According to Bloomberg, a number of private equity firms have been approached to see if any is interested in a buyout, which would be valued at over £7bn. Reported names include CVC Capital [...]
SocGen hikes 2013 dividend on fourth quarter profit February 12, 2014 Societe Generale, France’s second-biggest bank, has said this morning that a strong performance by its domestic retail banking unit helped it turn €322m (£267m) profit in the fourth quarter. A year earlier, SocGen made a loss of €471m. It confirmed that, by mid-May, it’ll present a ‘roadmap’ for achieving a 10 per cent return on equity [...]
Could falling Japanese stocks see Abenomics end in tears? February 4, 2014 The Nikkei took the biggest hit of any advanced economy stock index yesterday, dropping over four per cent. The Japanese stock index is down by about 14 per cent from its December peak. Is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s radical easing policy slipping up? Despite fears of a new bear market, this isn’t even the biggest [...]
Blackstone rips past estimates as floats deliver January 30, 2014 WALL Street titan Blackstone shot the lights out with its quarterly results yesterday, shattering analysts’ profit expectations after prospering from a bout of multi-billion deals including the UK float of Legoland owner Merlin Entertainments. The group, which offers an array of private equity and real estate funds for the world’s biggest investors, said pre-tax profits [...]
Google and Samsung sign up for a 10-year patent licensing deal January 26, 2014 Google and Samsung Electronics, which are frequently involved in patent infringement lawsuits but not against each other, yesterday announced they have reached a global patent cross-licensing agreement. The deal covers patents currently owned by the companies, as well as any filed in the next 10 years, the companies said in a release. Financial terms were [...]
Dubai shares lead losses across region as UAE reassures on Sheikh January 26, 2014 Shares in Dubai and Abu Dhabi tumbled yesterday, leading a region-wide decline and following news that the President of the United Arab Emirates had suffered a stroke. Dubai’s bourse, which has been driven to hefty gains by local retail investors, fell 2.2 per cent – recording its biggest one-day loss in more than two months [...]
Santander floats US car finance arm as private investors sell up January 23, 2014 SANTANDER Consumer USA successfully floated yesterday as the parent banking group and a range of private equity firms sold stakes in the unit. The initial public offering sold 21.6 per cent of the car finance unit in a deal valuing the whole business at $8.3bn (£5bn). Banco Santander sold a four per cent stake and [...]