Profits up 180pc as Alibaba preps bumper $20bn New York listing August 27, 2014 CHINESE e-commerce giant Alibaba reported its profits almost tripled in the three months to the end of June. Alibaba, which could float on the New York Stock Exchange in the coming weeks, filed papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showing profits jumped to 12.34bn yuan (£1.2bn), from 4.38bn yuan during the same period [...]
Alibaba profits almost triple as it approaches IPO August 27, 2014 Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has almost tripled profits in the three months to the end of June. The company, which is thought to be gearing up to float on the New York Stock Exchange in the next few weeks, filed papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showing profits jumped to 12.34bn yuan (£1.2bn), [...]
Taxpayer to cough up £224m after e-borders contract termination ruled unlawful August 18, 2014 The UK taxpayer is facing a £224m bill after a tribunal in Massachusetts ruled that the government had unlawfully terminated a contract with a US defence firm. Raytheon, the US company is question, is to receive hefty payouts regarding a contract to provide the much-maligned e-borders programme, which was commissioned by the Labour government and cancelled by [...]
Chiquita and Fyffes $1bn banana merger may be split August 11, 2014 A MERGER between two of world’s largest banana rivals Fyffes and Chiquita was thrown in doubt yesterday after new suitors weighed in with a rival $610.5m (£364m) takeover bid. Juice maker Cutrale and the Brazilian investment firm Safra announced that they have offered $13 per share in cash to Chiquita shareholders, a 29 per cent [...]
What caused the 2008 financial crisis? Not short selling, it turns out August 8, 2014 It has been asserted that the 2008 financial crisis was precipitated, at least in part, by too many traders using naked short sales to make a profit. According to economist Veljko Fotak from the University at Buffalo School of Management in the US, a number of financial institutions blamed this activity when they had to [...]
How London’s stockbrokers went to war – and conflict came to the City August 6, 2014 KEEP your heads. There is no need for panic. Try and go on in the ordinary way.” These were the words of the lord mayor of London, Sir Thomas Vansittart Bowater, to citizens on the outbreak of war in 1914. For all the lord mayor’s words of encouragement, life did not go on in the [...]
P&G share price rises after plans to cut 100 brands revealed August 1, 2014 Procter and Gamble, the world's largest consumer goods company, is looking to cut up to 100 of its smaller brands. The maker of Tide detergent and Gilette razors will focus on the 70 or 80 brands responsible for 90 per cent of the company's sales and 95 per cent of its profits. Of those [...]
Manchester United share price rises as club looks set to pocket £88m July 31, 2014 The Glazer family is set to sell five per cent of Manchester United. In news that will delight the suits in the Old Trafford boardrooms and be met with indifference in the stands, it was announced yesterday that the American owners of the Premier League club could raise up to $150m (£88.7m) by the [...]
Manchester United share price rise could see the club generate more revenue than four season’s worth of player sales July 31, 2014 The Glazer family is set to sell 5% of Manchester United. In news that will delight the suits in the boardrooms of Old Trafford and be met with indifference in the stands, it was announced yesterday that the American owners of the Premier League club could raise up to $150m (£88.7m) by the sale [...]
American Express profits rise as customers won’t leave home without it July 29, 2014 Credit card giant American Express yesterday reported a bigger-than-expected nine per cent rise in quarterly profit as more customers used its credit cards in a recovering US economy. Card member spending rose nine per cent globally, after adjusting for foreign currency, compared to seven per cent growth in the preceding quarter and eight per cent [...]