UK to grow at stable level as 2014 kicks off December 12, 2013 THE RECENT boost to economic optimism appears to be stabilising, after rapid improvements in consumer and business confidence earlier in the year. According to the Conference Board, which measures economic sentiment in countries around the world, the British economy was still picking up pace in October, but was reaching a more stable level. The group’s [...]
Snapchat raises $50m from US hedgie Coatue December 12, 2013 SNAPCHAT, the photo messaging app popular with teens, yesterday secured $50m (£30.6m) funding from Coatue Management, a California-based hedge fund. Coatue, run by Phillipe and Thomas Laffont, has also invested millions into startup app HotelTonight. The app made headlines last month for being yet another website with no revenue to receive a billion dollar purchase [...]
Odey shorts Manchester Utd as hedge funds line up for Blinkx December 12, 2013 HEDGE fund guru Crispin Odey is shorting stocks in Manchester United, while other funds are betting against London listed Blinkx, regulatory data shows. Odey Asset Management disclosed a $5m short position in the club to the Financial Conduct Authority last week. Wall Street investor Luxor Group also disclosed a 1.85 per cent short position in [...]
Global junk bond issuance to surpass $500bn December 12, 2013 JUNK bond issues are set to soar past the $500bn mark for the first time this year, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) predicts, as companies flock to the bond markets for cash. Total corporate bond issuance so far this year smashed past the $3 trillion mark in November, with S&P predicting the annual issuance will exceed [...]
TCS backs consumer credit laws December 12, 2013 London listed credit card firm TCS Group yesterday welcomed clarification on Russia’s lending laws after fears stricter rules could harm its business model. TCS said the newly drafted laws would not impact the company’s home delivery business model, which delivers credit cards to homes in rural Russia.
Easynet and MDNX merger December 12, 2013 Lloyds Banking Group’s buyout arm LDC yesterday sold its cloud hosting platform Easynet to Equistone backed business MDNX Group. The two will be merged by Equistone under the Easynet umbrella into one company. Greg Clarke, non-executive chairman of the new group said it wanted to develop more business overseas.
BlackRock Trust sells Vodafone December 12, 2013 BlackRock’s North American Trust, which floated in London last year, yesterday said it had cut exposure to the utilities and telecommunication sector, selling its stake in Vodafone due to overheating valuations. BlackRock’s small companies fund also said a price rise in Telit helped deliver net asset value appreciation of 3.2 per cent.
Demand for gas will overtake coal by 2025 December 12, 2013 NATURAL gas will overtake coal as the second-largest energy source globally by 2025, according to Exxon Mobil, the world’s biggest energy company by market value. The world will need over one third more energy to meet demand driven by population growth, improved living standards and expanded urbanisation, according to new research from Exxon Mobil released [...]
Anglo chief warns of challenging year ahead December 12, 2013 FTSE 100 miner Anglo American’s chief executive yesterday reaffirmed that the company’s turnaround was in motion, but warned that headwinds would continue to impact performance in 2014. Mark Cutifani, who took over at the helm of Anglo earlier this year, told investors that he is targeting a return on capital of over 15 per cent [...]
Strong year boosts outlook at Go-Ahead December 12, 2013 GO-AHEAD Group said yesterday it expects profits in its bus division to hit £100m by 2015-16, as it raised its annual forecasts to reflect a better-than-expected performance so far. Shares in the transport operator, which runs London buses and Southeastern trains, rose after it said deregulated bus revenue for the half-year to 28 December was [...]
