Walgreens in bid to attract UK investors June 24, 2012 AMERICAN pharmacy Walgreens will kick off a series of high-level meetings with UK investors today in a bid to increase institutional interest in the US-listed company, following its £4.3bn initial takeover deal with Alliance Boots. Chief executive Gregory Wasson has arrived in the country to sound out institutional investors, such as large UK pension funds, [...]
FED TWISTS AGAIN June 20, 2012 A WORSE than expected outlook for the US economy has prompted the Federal Reserve to extend its stimulus programme known as Operation Twist to the end of the year, although it stopped short of expanding the overall size of bond purchases. Markets initially sank last night as the Fed revealed that it was not launching [...]
Stocks sink on disappointing Federal action June 20, 2012 US stocks edged lower yesterday after the Federal Reserve acted to aid the fragile economy with stimulus measures that were in line with market expectations but went no further. Stocks rallied in recent days in the hope that the US central bank would extend Operation Twist, a bond-buying program designed to lower long-term rates and [...]
Man United drops Asia IPO for US June 13, 2012 Manchester United, the world’s best-supported football club, has ditched its plans for an Asian stock market flotation and is preparing to list in the United States, according to sources with knowledge of the deal. After first eyeing a Hong Kong IPO, the Premier League runners up, owned by the Glazer family, had planned a $1bn [...]
Zara owner Inditex bucks EU gloom with sharp profits rise June 13, 2012 INDITEX, the Spanish fashion retailer behind Zara and Massimo Dutti, has posted a sharp rise in first quarter earnings amidst volatile conditions and poor consumer demand in Europe. Sales rose to €3.4bn (£2.8bn) in the three months to 30 April, up 15 per cent on last year while net profit jumped by 30 per cent [...]
UBS losses on Facebook set to soar to $350m June 10, 2012 UBS is thought to have lost up to $350m (£226m) on the botched Facebook float last month. The Swiss investment bank racked up the losses, far higher than those initially estimated, after placing an order for one million shares in the social networking giant. When it did not receive confirmation of the trade it repeated [...]
Diageo looks at new listing in Hong Kong June 10, 2012 DRINKS giant Diageo is looking at a potential listing of its shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange to help boost its expansion plans in Asia, part of its overall drive into fast growing emerging markets. The world’s biggest spirits group already has its shares listed on the London and New York stock exchanges and [...]
Wonga criticised as it looks at American dream of a flotation June 5, 2012 WONGA is set to float in the US in a listing that could value the controversial payday loans firm at more than £1bn. It is considering joining Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange next year in another blow to the London stock exchange. It is believed to be choosing an investment bank to help [...]
Graff Diamond’s Hong Kong adventure ends in disaster May 31, 2012 IN an ideal world, ahead of the Jubilee weekend, we would now be looking forward to the listing of Graff Diamonds shares in London. Graff’s history is London through and through. Founder Laurence Graff started as a jewellery apprentice here in 1950 and then 12 years later opened his first two stores in the capital. [...]
Hopes of euro bailout lift stocks as Facebook dives May 29, 2012 US stocks rose yesterday as signs Greece would stay in the Eurozone were enough to spark buying in what has been a weak month for equities, while Facebook plumbed new lows on high volume. Wall Street has swung back and forth on shifting signals coming out of Europe. More than three issues rose for every [...]