Acast gets £3m backing from Bonnier Media May 17, 2015 INTERNATIONAL media investment firm Bonnier Growth Media announced it had chosen to invest in podcasting platform Acast today in order to fast-track its European growth and US launch plans. The announcement comes as Acast confirmed it has closed its Series A funding round after raising over $5m (£3.2m) from Bonnier. Since its 2014 launch in [...]
China’s Rundong Auto plans growth as Greenland Group buys controlling stake May 17, 2015 CHINESE developer Greenland Holding Group will pay HK$1.5bn (£123m) for a controlling stake in luxury auto dealer China Rundong Auto Group. Rundong Auto, backed by US private equity firm KKR & Co, said it will sell a 46 per cent controlling stake to Greenland and change its name to China Greenland Rundong Auto Group. The [...]
City Moves for 18 May 2015 | Who’s switching jobs May 17, 2015 BT Alison Wilcox has been appointed group HR director at BT. She joins from Vodafone, where she has been regional HR director for Europe for the past 18 months. Wilcox has also worked as regional HR director for Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific at the mobile operator. Centrus Advisors The treasury and debt [...]
Best of the Brokers for 18 May 2015 May 17, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BRITISH LAND Numis reiterated its “add” rating for the London-based property management company. The broker said London offices are likely to continue to perform for at least the next couple of years, but warned that as market rents test ever higher levels the [...]
Flurry of economic data to shed light on British recovery – London Report May 17, 2015 A STEADY flow of economic data is expected this week, with figures on house prices, producer prices, retail sales and public sector borrowing all scheduled for release. Data out tomorrow is expected to show that the UK experienced unchanged consumer prices year-on-year in April, as was the case in both March and February – although [...]
Fed will update on US outlook – New York Report May 17, 2015 INVESTORS will watch for any change in the economic outlook from housing data and remarks by various Federal Reserve speakers this week, while retailers will take over on the earnings front as the first-quarter reporting season trickles to its end. The highlight comes at the end of the week with Fed chair Janet Yellen speaking [...]
Obama’s free trade grand strategy is now perilously close to total failure May 17, 2015 It’s one of the great failings of modern foreign policy analysis. Analysts of all stripes seem intent on confusing “not having a plan” with “not having a plan I particularly like”. More than most, this has held true of Barack Obama’s foreign policy; if I had a dollar for every sceptical analyst who believes that [...]
The UK leads the world as an education exporter – and it can do better still May 17, 2015 With a new government in place, it won’t be long before Prime Minister Cameron and his team of ministers start to jet off across the globe to key international markets. India, China, Brazil and the Gulf States will be the most likely countries to see a British Airways plane land on the tarmac in the [...]
Sleepwalking to Brexit: The stakes are too high to be complacent about the risks May 17, 2015 Expect the unexpected could be considered the new mantra for UK politics, just like think the unthinkable has become an increasingly common refrain for markets. The shock Conservative majority and stunning gains of the SNP left Paddy Ashdown eating his hat, Alastair Campbell eating his kilt, and David Cameron well-advised to dust off the “Better [...]
As Nicola Sturgeon demands more powers, is a second Scottish independence vote inevitable? May 17, 2015 Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, says Yes. The genie is out of the bottle, the toothpaste out of the tube. Pick whichever metaphor you like, but be sure of one thing: it’s a case of “when”, not “if”. The SNP is simply biding its time, waiting for its chance. [...]
