Australia and China in £6bn of mining deals June 21, 2010 AUSTRALIA and China signed ten commercial deals worth more than $8.8bn (£6bn) yesterday, strengthening the country’s ties in the mining and energy sectors. The agreements see state-owned China Development Bank undertaking to provide financing for several major mining projects, including a $1.2bn loan for an iron ore development. The deals were agreed in Canberra as [...]
Chancellor to declare the winners and losers June 21, 2010 WITH tax rises and spending cuts expected in today’s Budget, many equity strategists are advising investors to steer clear of stocks heavily reliant on UK-based revenues. Instead, contracts for difference (CFD) traders should target equities with international and private sector exposure. The emergency Budget is likely to focus on tax rises instead of detailed spending [...]
…as Australia gives date for merger probe June 21, 2010 THE Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) yesterday extended the deadline for its probe into Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton’s proposed joint venture in Western Australia to 22 July. The ACCC published the “proposed date” on its website after repeatedly delaying a report on its findings into the US$116bn (£78bn) deal, which would see Rio [...]
AkzoNobel offloads starch arm June 21, 2010 US-based Corn Products International has struck a deal to buy the National Starch business off Dutch paints firm AkzoNobel for $1.3bn (£881m) in cash, completing the Dutch firm’s delayed sale of non-core businesses. AkzoNobel had acquired National Starch with its buyout of British paints firm ICI in 2008 and in April said it had received [...]
Acergy to buy rival Subsea 7 June 21, 2010 Oilfield services provider Acergy yesterday announced an all-share deal to buy rival Subsea 7, in a bid to create a leader in the undersea engineering segment hit by the Mexico Gulf oil spill. The offer values Subsea 7 at over $2.4bn (£1.6bn), based on the last closing price before the deal was announced. It comes [...]
GOLD’S SHINE TO KEEP ITS PRICE HIGH June 21, 2010 TWO weeks ago, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was giving testimony to the House Budget Committee. In the Q&A session that followed, he was asked, among other things, about the price of gold. “I don’t fully understand movements in the gold price,” he replied, going on to say that he felt its rise was an [...]
Vantage hit by £700k fine in FSA probe June 21, 2010 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) has hit Vantage Capital Markets with a £700,000 fine for allowing a senior figure to operate without the regulator’s approval. Daniel Hassell worked for interdealer broker Vantage for more than four years and had “significant influence” on the company, the FSA found. Vantage was formed as a limited liability partnership [...]
China’s FX shift won’t spark a sustained rally June 21, 2010 IT WAS a decision that had been long awaited by the financial markets, analysts and policymakers alike. But the announcement by the Chinese central bank to gradually return the Chinese currency to a managed floating exchange rate was issued with little ceremony on Saturday evening Beijing-time. Despite its vagueness, the statement was leapt upon yesterday [...]
Photo-me fined £500,000 for delaying tactic June 21, 2010 PHOTO BOOTH operator Photo-Me has been slapped with a £500,000 fine after it delayed disclosing pertinent information to the market. The City watchdog said this led to a false market in the FTSE Small Cap company shares for 44 days. In the final three months of 2006, Photo-Me made a series of announcements which led [...]
CFD ANALYST PICKS June 21, 2010 TECHNICAL STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Sell FTSE 100 at 5,400 Expertise: Technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 5-10 days The market has been very well-supported on dips below 5,000 with the latest bounce now likely to be opening additional gains back towards the 5,400 level over the coming sessions. However, any additional gains [...]
