China stocks recover after second day of falls as markets nervously await Fed minutes August 19, 2015 Stocks in China finished today's session up, despite falls in early trading. That followed big losses on Tuesday. The Shenzhen Composite finished 2.19 per cent higher, at 2,222.05 points, while the Shanghai Composite rose 1.23 per cent to 3,794.11 points – having dipped as low as 5.3 per cent and 6.1 per cent respectively during the [...]
Alleged fraud victims launch lawsuit against CWM fund August 19, 2015 Victims of an alleged £50m fraud by former Chelsea FC sponsor CWM have launched a class action law suit in an effort to get back their investments. The class action alleges that £50m of CWM investments was held by Cayman Islands-based bank DMS, but that only £1m is now left, which has been frozen while [...]
Greek government to flog operating rights for 14 airports to Germany’s Fraport August 18, 2015 It looks like Greece is about to make a start on that tough privatisation schedule it's agreed to. The government has resumed talks with German operator Fraport over the right to run 14 regional airports. A spokesperson for Fraport told City A.M. previous discussions, which took place during 2014, would recommence. "The government [of Greece] [...]
UK house prices: Persimmon share price dips despite fecund first half August 18, 2015 Another day, another housebuilder boasting impressive growth, after Persimmon said profits rose 31 per cent to £2.72.8m in the six months to the end of June. The figures You read that right: profits before tax rose 31 per cent to £272.8m, up from £208.9m last year. Meanwhile revenues rose 11 per cent to £1.3bn, while underlying earnings per share [...]
Housebuilder shares drop on “vanilla” house price growth August 18, 2015 Shares in the UK's largest listed housebuilders fell today, despite official figures showing annual house price growth rose to 5.7 per cent in June. Shares in Barratt fell 1.45 per cent to 643.5p in late morning trading, while Berkeley Group was down just under one per cent at 3,422p. Meanwhile, shares in Persimmon, which posted [...]
Zopa becomes the first UK peer-to-peer lender to crash through £1bn of loans August 18, 2015 What a difference a decade makes. Just over 10 years after it was first launched, UK platform Zopa has become the UK's first peer-to-peer lender to crash through the £1bn loans barrier. Read more: How marketplace lending is becoming part of industry furniture You only need to look at the rapid rise of alternative lenders [...]
“Summer boom” in upmarket central London lettings as Mayfair has post-election bounce August 18, 2015 It's not just super-rich property buyers who breathed a sigh of relief when the result of the General Election was announced: new figures suggest landlords were also pretty relieved, after corporate relocation enquiries for homes in Mayfair jumped 40 per cent in the past three months. Read more: One estate agent is enticing the super-rich [...]
Chinese stocks tumble as Shangai Composite and Shenzhen Composite close six per cent lower August 18, 2015 Stocks in China plummeted overnight on concerns about weak demand in China, as well as disappointing manufacturing figures from the US. The Shanghai Composite – which has suffered in recent weeks as the People's Bank of China (PBoC) devalued the renminbi against the dollar – closed 6.15 per cent lower, at 3,748 points. Meanwhile, the [...]
Bowled over: Competition regulator topples merger or Original Bowling Company and Bowlplex August 17, 2015 Is the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) about to force a split? The regulator has toppled plans for a merger between The Original Bowling Company and Bowlplex over concerns it would lead to less competition in the sector. Well. We're bowled over… The CMA said it had looked at six local areas where the pair [...]
FTSE lags European markets as commodities are hit again August 17, 2015 The FTSE 100 was the only European market not to make gains this morning, falling 0.25 per cent to 6,534 points, after China's decision to devalue its currency continued to hit commodities. The index was pulled down by Randgold Resources, BP and BHP Billiton, as well as Glencore, whose share price fell 0.64 per cent [...]
