Mnuchin says US-China trade deal could be sealed within two rounds of talks April 29, 2019 US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said today that he hopes the United States and China can reach a trade deal using two more rounds of talks. Read more: US trade deficit shrinks as exports to China surge Mnuchin told Fox Business Network that within the next two rounds of discussions it will become clear whether [...]
What role does the state play in corporate governance? April 29, 2019 What do the recent corporate governance scandals involving the Italian oil company Eni, the Franco-Japanese auto alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, and the Canadian construction giant SNC-Lavalin all have in common? They each have a surprising culprit lurking behind them: the state. While corporate governance is intended to describe a system by which firms protect shareholder and stakeholder [...]
Avengers: Endgame smashes worldwide box office record, taking $1.2bn in debut weekend April 29, 2019 The newest Marvel film has beaten box office records with a huge $1.2bn (£929m) around the world in opening ticket sales. Read more: Avengers, Assemble: the business lessons to learn from Marvel's superheroes Avengers: Endgame, which opened in the UK on Thursday, has beaten the record set by the previous film in the Marvel superhero [...]
Trade tariffs and waning demand slam the brakes on Volvo quarterly profit April 25, 2019 Volvo parent company Geely’s shares fell today after the Swedish car maker announced profit fell nearly a fifth in the first three months of the year. Read more: Volvo recalls over 200,000 cars worldwide over leaky fuel pipes The manufacturer said pricing pressure and higher tariffs stemming from the trade war between the US and [...]
The Huawei 5G partnership is a threat to the UK’s national security April 25, 2019 Imagine if you were told that your new home internet network was going to be part built and maintained by a company alleged to have links to some of the most prolific identity thieves in your area. In all likelihood, you would change your provider. Yet that is precisely the course of action the British [...]
Inside Huawei: Spies, spin and billions at stake April 24, 2019 The journey from Paris to Verona takes just two minutes. The small, replica Swiss train trundles past imposing French chateaux and gothic German castles, sliding effortlessly through 12 European cities before ending up, after just under eight kilometres of newly-built track, back in Paris. On Huawei’s new Ox Horn campus, not far from the Chinese [...]
A year of two halves? April 23, 2019 Alex Crooke, Fund Manager of the Bankers Investment Trust, explains how the team is preparing for a different investment landscape in the second half of 2019. It’s in our nature as fund managers to continually contemplate about the future, but the level and scope of uncertainty facing investors today is almost unprecedented. What’s disappointing is [...]
Samsung Galaxy Fold: Tech giant delays launch date after review issues for foldable phone April 23, 2019 Samsung is reportedly recovering all review samples of its latest smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, after complaints of faulty screens led it to postpone the device’s launch. The foldable phone’s offficial release was due on 26 April in the US but some journalists who received the device to review said it showed evidence of breaks, broken [...]
Amazon to close its online store in China after failing to gain a foothold April 18, 2019 Amazon is set to close its online in store in China after failing to gain a real foothold in the country where JD.com and Alibaba reign supreme. The e-commerce giant will shut its operations in China down from 18 July, it announced today. Read more: Unilever shares rise on first quarter sales growth Rivals JD.com [...]
ii winter portfolios extend outperformance in March April 17, 2019 There are fewer star performers in this year's Aggressive Winter Portfolio – that was until March when no less than three of the five constituents each gained around 8%. Ignore Mark Twain and Benjamin Disraeli, statistics demonstrate that some stocks do far better during the winter months than others. And the stats are backed up [...]