NewsCorp drops China stake August 9, 2010 Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp said yesterday that it will sell control of its three Chinese TV channels to a fund backed by China’s second-largest media company, in a pullback from the market after years of difficulty. The deal would see China Media Capital acquire a controlling stake in News Corp’s Xing Kong, Xing Kong International [...]
Generics assault on key drug hits profits for King August 9, 2010 King Pharmaceuticals’ quarterly profit was cut in half as sales of its muscle-relaxant drug Skelaxin plunged 95 per cent due to generic competition, but overall results slightly topped expectations yesterday. The company reported net income of $18m (£11.3m), or seven cents per share. That compared to $37.9m, or 15 cents per share in the year-earlier [...]
BMW brand sales leap 12pc on China August 9, 2010 BMW, the world’s biggest premium car maker, increased sales volumes of its flagship BMW brand by 12 per cent in July thanks largely to soaring demand in China. “Sales increased for the eleventh straight month since September 2009. We also expect our sales performance to remain strong over the coming months,” said Ian Robertson, head [...]
City Moves | who’s switching jobs August 9, 2010 Rosenblatt Solicitors The City law firm has hired James Klein as a corporate partner, effective from 1 September. Klein joins from Berwin Leighton Paisner, where he was a corporate finance partner focusing in particular on the technology. He has a wide range of experience on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital issues and [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 9, 2010 MEGGITT Citi reiterates its “buy” rating on Meggitt saying its recent share price weakness is overdone. Acknowledges that first-half sales were disappointing, but is confident of a second-half recovery. Notes also that first half margins were significantly better than expected, and that cost-cutting continues. “Valuation remains compelling,” it says. RBS Morgan Stanley reiterates its “equal-weight” [...]
Banks boost FTSE past the 5,400 mark after quiet day August 9, 2010 FINANCIAL stocks boosted the UK’s leading share index yesterday, rallying from falls in the previous session following weak US jobs data and supported by energy markers which gained in tandem with crude. The FTSE 100 was up 78.13 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 5,410.52, having closed 0.6 per cent lower on Friday, albeit in [...]
Wall Street pauses ahead of Fed rates August 9, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday in the quietest session of the year on speculation that the Federal Reserve would signal potential steps to boost the sluggish economic recovery. Volume was a mere 5.71bn shares, compared with last year’s estimated daily volume of 9.65bn shares, as investors were wary of taking new positions before the Fed’s statement [...]
Panic over a new global food crisis is over-egged August 9, 2010 TRADERS have been watching wheat markets breathlessly over the past few days as the grain bounced up and then down. Having gained 8.08 per cent last Thursday – up 80 per cent on prices in the middle of June – the grain plummeted on Friday, wiping out much of Thursday’s gain to end the day [...]
TRY SILVER IF YOU WANT A GOOD RETURN August 9, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT PRECIOUS metals have had a particularly rough ride of late. Gold has struggled since hitting a fresh all-time high just under $1,265 on 21 June this year, while silver has also retreated sharply after jumping 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2010. Technically, prices for both metals have broken [...]
After waiting in the shadows, the telco sector is looking good August 9, 2010 SINCE the outbreak of the European debt crisis, analysts have sung the praises of the utilities sector. It had all the ingredients to be recession- busting: utility stocks tend to be anti-cyclical, they hold up well when other stocks tumble and they provide a reliable dividend. But as the global economy emerges from recession, some [...]
