William Hill investor pushing for sale February 12, 2017 The high street betting chain, William Hill, is being considered as a potential target for acquisition, according to reports in the Sunday Times. Parvus Asset Management has been pushing for a sale of William Hill for four months, according to sources in the City. The Mayfair-based hedge fund is William Hill’s biggest single shareholder, with [...]
UK has a future as a cannabis hub, says biotech company February 12, 2017 The UK has the potential to become a world leader in drugs derived from the cannabis plant, according to a leading biotech firm. GW Pharmaceuticals chief executive, Justin Gover, told the Telegraph that the company is rapidly expanding its processing operations and hopes to get regulatory clearance for a new cannabis-derived drug in 2018. GW, [...]
Hedge funds bank on Sky takeover bid success February 12, 2017 Two US hedge funds have banked on the Murdoch family succeeding in taking over the UK-based communications giant, Sky plc. According to reports in the Sunday Telegraph, the two funds, HBK and Pentwater, each disclosed they have amassed positions worth £310m and £300m respectively. In December last year, 21st Century Fox announced that it would be [...]
Nine ways Donald Trump has already fallen out with American voters February 10, 2017 As the latest batch of polling results are released, Donald Trump finds himself increasingly at odds with both Republican and Democrat voters, it turns out. It's well known Trump’s approval ratings are the worst of any new President – but new figures suggest they have continued to slide since he took office on 20 January. According [...]
Sears shares rocket 29 per cent as boss outlines plans for a “strategic transformation” February 10, 2017 Shares in US department store Sears rocketed as markets opened today, after plans to reduce debts sent investors on a shopping spree. The retail giant said its new strategy could remove $1.5bn from its debt and pensions obligations, which have weighed on the company’s stock market performance. “We are initiating a fundamental restructuring of our [...]
Instagram-obsessed millennials are wasting food February 10, 2017 Millennials are prioritising making food visually appealing and are wasting ingredients as a result, according to a Sainsbury’s report. Kids these days, eh? The study found older generations are more likely to plan meals in advance and make full use of the food available, while millennials are creating more interesting meals. Sainsbury’s surveyed 5,050 consumers on [...]
Pay-to-use motorway fails to secure bidders February 10, 2017 A £1.9bn deal to sell M6 Toll road has fallen through, prompting lenders to consider refinancing Britain’s only pay-to-use motorway. Plans to sell the motorway were announced in February last year and were already delayed as a result of the summer’s EU referendum vote. The sale is now not expected to take place, according to [...]
This influential banker says the Trump bump has only just begun February 10, 2017 Bankim Chadha, Deutsche Bank’s global chief strategist is bullish about the prospect of further growth in equities this year. Writing in a note, Chadha said the S&P 500 index could rise to a record of 2,600 points by the end of the year. The US index closed at a record of 2,307.87 points last week. He [...]
Weak pound delivers earnings boost for GSK February 8, 2017 GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has reported core profits of £7.8bn on full year revenues of £27.9bn in 2016, a rise of six per cent and 14 per cent respectively year-on-year. In the three months to December, GSK saw sales increase by 21 per cent to £7.59bn, beating analysts' expectations. The reported core earnings per share were 102.4p [...]
What do we know about Aramco’s boutique adviser? February 8, 2017 The world’s largest IPO in recent times is expected to take place next year, as the Saudi state oil firm known as Saudi Aramco is floated with an anticipated value of around $2 trillion. New-York based investment bank, Moelis & Co. has been reported as the sole independent adviser on the IPO, representing by far [...]