London Stock Exchange to buy Russell Investments for £1.6bn June 26, 2014 The London Stock Exchange went on the front foot yesterday to clinch the group’s biggest takeover in its 200-year history, landing a £1.6bn deal to challenge the dominance of its US rivals. The group will buy American index provider Russell Investments from Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company, after beating New York-based rival MSCI in a hotly [...]
Alibaba picks NYSE over Nasdaq June 26, 2014 CHINESE e-commerce group Alibaba has decided to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) where it is expected to raise up to $20bn (£11.7bn) in one of the largest US technology floats. Alibaba, which handles over 80 per cent of online retail transactions in the world’s second-largest economy, will list under the ticker “BABA” [...]
Barclays’ Antony Jenkins under fire as share price plunges 6.52 per cent June 26, 2014 Barclays shares dived yesterday as shareholders panicked that the lender could face another huge legal bill over claims it lied to investors using its dark pool trading facilities. It is the latest in a series of scandals hitting the bank, and these claims are particularly damaging as the alleged wrongdoing occurred on the [...]
London Report: FTSE flat as Barclays fall is countered by housebuilder climbs June 26, 2014 BARCLAYS Bank’s shares plummeted 6.5 per cent yesterday as the FTSE index ended flat despite a rally in housebuilders on Bank of England comments. The FTSE 100 closed on 6,735.12 up 0.02 per cent or 1.5 points. The market was also underpinned by the London Stock Exchange Group, which surged 6.1 per cent after unveiling [...]
Barclays sued for dark pool securities fraud: What is a dark pool? June 26, 2014 Barclays in the US is being sued for fraudulent behaviour, following a complaint filed by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman. He claimed that the bank had misrepresented the participants of its dark pool, leaving institutional investors exposed to high frequency trading “predators”. A dark pool is a covert trading location where all trades are anonymous [...]
The new rules of business dress: Is casual dying? June 26, 2014 It’s not just about perceptions – make use of “enclothed cognition” Ever since “business casual” exploded onto the sartorial scene in the 1990s, predictions of the death of smart business dress have come thick and fast. Levi’s posted an eight-page brochure titled A Guide to Casual Businesswear to around 25,000 human resource managers in the [...]
Markit share price soars on first day of US trading June 19, 2014 Markit, the UK financial data provider, saw its shares leap as much as 14 per cent yesterday during its debut on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in New York. Markit, which raised $1.3bn (£762m) from the float, closed up 11.25 per cent at $26.70 after launching its shares at $24, the mid-point of its price range, [...]
Valeant goes hostile in bid for rival Allergan June 18, 2014 Valeant Pharmaceuticals International yesterday launched a hostile takeover bid for rivals Allergan, proposing that Allergan shareholders exchange each of their shares for $72 and 0.83 of a Valeant share, valued at roughly $52.7bn (£31bn) in cash and stock. The offer is contingent on Botox-maker Allergan’s shareholders approving the issuance of Valeant common shares in the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 16 June 2014 June 16, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES GSK spin-off set for possible listing A British biotech company spun out of GlaxoSmithKline is gearing up for a possible stock market flotation after strong trial results for a new painkiller. Convergence Pharmaceuticals was set up in 2010 as part of a restructuring of GSK’s research and development operations. The UK’s biggest drugmaker [...]
Medtronic nears deal for pharma rival Covidien June 16, 2014 THE WORLD’S biggest medical devices maker Medtronic is on the verge of clinching the largest cross-border drug merger ever after nearing an agreement with Irish rival Covidien. Medtronic, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, could announce as soon as today a stock and cash deal worth between $45bn (£26.5bn) and $50bn to takeover the [...]