Early orders and Singles Day boost: Both Chinese exports and imports pick up steam December 7, 2021 European equity markets got off to a solid start to the new week yesterday as investors looked past the negativity of last week and chose to focus on the expectation that the Omicron variant, while more transmissible, may well not be as virulent as the Delta variant that is wreaking havoc across Europe. “Indications so [...]
The City View: December 6: Inflation, Labour’s pro-business push and flooding risks December 6, 2021 Today Andy Silvester looks at a warning from a top Bank of England rate-setter, news from the digital ads market, Chinese property firm Evergrande’s latest struggles against its debt burden and more news on the new Covid variant. Andy is also joined by Sascha O’Sullivan and Elena Siniscalco, who offer their views on politics, Keir’s [...]
Evergrande shares tumble to record low as debt deadline looms yet again December 6, 2021 Shares in embattled Chinese real estate developer Evergrande plunged to their lowest price ever overnight as investors cleared out of the company over concerns it is on the brink of collapse. Evergrande is yet again teetering on the verge of missing a 30-day grace period deadline to pay debts worth over £82m. The downward turn [...]
Elon Musk is being allowed to ‘make the rules’ in space warns ESA December 5, 2021 The chief of the European Space Agency has warned that governments are allowing tech billionaire Musk to "make the rules" in space.
Triple whammy: SoftBank shares slide 3.5 per cent after rocky 24 hours for Didi, Arm and Grab investments December 3, 2021 Shares in Japanese conglomerate Softbank sank as much as 3.5 per cent today after three of its high-profile investments Didi, Arm and Grab were hit with setbacks in the last 24 hours. The investment giant’s shares dropped as low as 5,423 yen ($47.89) today, before settling slightly higher, but with losses of 23 per cent [...]
Activist investor pushes Glencore to spin off coal business November 30, 2021 Activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners has called on commodities titan Glencore to spin off its thermal coal business.
When the chips are down: the tiny piece missing from our supply chains November 30, 2021 If you haven’t already bought your tech gifts this Christmas you may have to come up with some more primitive alternatives for your loved ones. Chronic shortages of chips, the tiny semiconductors that are essential to a myriad of technologies, as well as high labor and transport costs, mean that Christmas gifts this year such [...]
If China’s interfering with hash rate and mining pools, then Bitcoin just proved its resilience November 26, 2021 Jason Deane gathers his thoughts of the week as fingers point towards China's continued disdain for crypto
Beijing asks Didi to delist in New York over data security concerns November 26, 2021 Chinese regulators have pressured top executives of ride hailing giant Didi to pull together a plan to delist from the New York Stock Exchange over data security fears, according to reports. Beijing’s Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) – the body that has cracked down on the likes of Ant Group and Alibaba in the last [...]
The boring predictability of our rule of law will ensure Britain’s success November 26, 2021 Power doesn’t disappear overnight. In the immortal words of Paul Simon, it slip slides away. In Helmand, Afghanistan I realised things were falling apart when people stopped coming to the government to resolve disputes. They turned to the Taliban instead. That was 15 years before the end. Subtly, almost unnoticed, here was proof that people [...]