Smith & Nephew slashes guidance as China slowdown continues October 31, 2024 Hip and knee implant maker Smith & Nephew has cut its full-year guidance as it continues to grapple with a slowdown in China. It booked third quarter revenue of $1.4bn (£1.08bn), up four per cent year on year, but Chinese sales dragged as the region experienced “worse than expected headwinds” across the surgical businesses. The [...]
Jonathan Reynolds ‘open to reviving China trade talks’ October 29, 2024 Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said he is “open to having a conversation” about reviving trade talks with China. The cabinet minister told Politico he was “certainly” prepared to discuss reopening the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO), which was set up to improve bilateral trade and investment between the two nations. It was [...]
HSBC shares pop as bank beats profit estimates and launches $3bn buyback October 29, 2024 HSBC has unveiled its latest share buyback after beating profit estimates in the third quarter as the Asia-focused bank gears up for a major restructuring.
Burberry, LVMH and Kering: Rebound of travel and China to boost luxury market October 22, 2024 Analysts have stressed the problems in the luxury market are cyclical, not structural, and predicted an upswing at brands like Burberry, LVMH and Kering as international travel looks set to rebound past pre-pandemic levels. The downturn in the luxury market, which has been suffering from the cost-of-living crisis in the West and a slowdown in [...]
UK needs ‘more diplomacy’ with China, says Lammy October 19, 2024 The UK approach to China needs “more diplomacy, not less”, the Foreign Secretary has said on his first official visit to the country. David Lammy said the Government would bring “consistency” to relations with China, adding there had not been “sufficient contact” between London and Beijing under his predecessors, particularly on human rights issues. His [...]
Oil prices slide on Israel vow to avoid Iran refineries with retaliation October 15, 2024 Oil prices tumbled by over four per cent on Tuesday after soft economic readings from China and reports that Israel has assured the US it would avoid oil and nuclear facilities in its expected retaliation on Iran. The price of Brent crude dropped 4.4 per cent – or $3.42 (£2.61) a barrel – and WTI [...]
Ashmore rebounds thanks to emerging market surge October 14, 2024 Emerging markets-focused investment manager Ashmore saw assets surge over the last three months, turning around a years-long trend of poor performance for the asset manager. Assets under management at the fund house increased by $2.5bn (£1.9bn) over the quarter to 30 September thanks to $3.2bn (£2.4bn) of positive investment performance, with investors only withdrawing $700m [...]
China flags more fiscal stimulus for economy, leaves out key details on size October 12, 2024 China pledged on Saturday to “significantly increase” debt to revive its sputtering economy, but left investors guessing on the overall size of the stimulus package, a vital detail to gauge the longevity of its recent stock market rally. Finance Minister Lan Foan told a press conference Beijing will help local governments tackle their debt problems, [...]
Are UK investors going to get burned by volatile Chinese stocks? October 9, 2024 The Chinese stock market is on a roll, seeing its best week since 2008 followed by its worst day since 1997 since the country’s central bank announced sweeping stimulus measures. The seesawing back and forth experienced by UK investors diving into the Chinese stock market might be scary, with many worrying the strong growth over [...]
Shares in spirits companies drop after ‘tit-for-tat’ Chinese brandy tariff October 8, 2024 Shares in international drinks companies fell this morning after China slapped an anti-dumping tariff on brandy imports from the EU, escalating trade tensions. The move from China came only days after the EU imposed a tariff of 45 per cent on Chinese electric vehicles for the next five years. The European Commission called it an “abuse” of [...]