Watchdog drops Amazon probe November 26, 2013 Germany’s competition watchdog has dropped an investigation into Amazon after it agreed to stop forcing third-party merchants to offer their cheapest price when selling on its site. Amazon said in August it would stop its policy in the EU that prevented merchants selling on its Marketplace from offering lower prices on other sites. The German [...]
Publicis Omnicom seeks approval November 26, 2013 US advertising company Omnicom and French peer Publicis have asked EU antitrust regulators to approve their proposed $35.1bn merger to create the world number one agency. Omnicom, the world’s second biggest agency, and Publicis, the third biggest, unveiled the merger in July, saying it would help them compete better with online rivals. The EC said [...]
City Moves for 27 November 2013 | Who’s switching jobs November 26, 2013 Aecom Patrick Flaherty has been appointed managing director for the UK and Ireland at the technical and management support services firm. He joins from Fluor, where he was managing director of its UK operations and led its infrastructure business. Axa Investment Managers The asset management division of Axa has announced the appointment of John Porter [...]
Best of the Brokers for 27 November 2013 November 26, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com HALFORDS UBS has a “buy” recommendation on the bike and car parts retailer and has raised its price target to 530p from 435p. The broker said that Halfords is beginning to improve its specialist credentials but the majority of the turnaround plan is [...]
London Report: China slowdown knocks fizz out of FTSE’s drinks November 26, 2013 BRITAIN’S benchmark equity index fell yesterday, pulled down by major drinks stocks such as SAB Miller and Diageo on signs of slowing consumer demand in China. But many traders said that any market weakness in November would be followed by a rally in December that could push the index back to its 2013 peaks. The [...]
New York Report: Nasdaq above 4,000 for first time in 13 years November 26, 2013 THE Nasdaq composite index closed above 4,000 yesterday for the first time since 2000, while the Dow and S&P ended barely changed. Retailers and homebuilders were among the best performing sectors, responding to stronger-than-expected earnings and robust housing market data. Tiffany jumped seven per cent to $88.02 and was the S&P 500’s top performer after [...]
Mid cap stocks gain favour as UK economic optimism rises November 26, 2013 But don’t write off the more international FTSE 100 blue chips THE UK recovery has finally taken hold. But not only is growth returning, many are now more optimistic about our economic prospects compared to other advanced nations. Last week, the OECD revised down its 2013 global growth forecasts to 2.7 per cent from 3.1 [...]
Any Other Business – 27/11 November 26, 2013 DAVID Cameron was guest of honour at the British Curry Awards on Monday evening, telling a packed Battersea Evolution centre that he would do more to help the industry flourish. The Prime Minister also proved that politics isn’t the only place he diverges from his Labour counterpart; after Ed Miliband revealed on Desert Island Discs [...]
Dollar drops on seven month low in US consumer confidence November 26, 2013 US consumers seem less upbeat – perhaps a delayed effect from October's partial government shutdown. That's seen the dollar slip against the pound. Confidence is down from 72.4 (revised from 71.2) to 70.4. Economists had forecast an uptick to 72.9. Amna Asaf of Capital Economics says that the decline "is a little disconcerting", but that [...]
US manufacturing sector strengthens on shipments and new orders November 26, 2013 The US manufacturing industry looked more upbeat in November, with the Richmond Fed manufacturing index coming in at 13, up from 1 in October and sailing past the expectation of 3. Shipments and the volume of new orders both rose over the month, with employment, average workweek and wages also picking up. Capacity utilization [...]