Brexit stockpiling helps UK manufacturing hit six-month high January 2, 2019 Manufacturers are in an “edgy mood” despite Brexit stockpiling and other preparations pushing the sector to a six-month high amid concerns of a global slowdown, according to a closely followed measure of industry activity. Businesses stockpiling raw materials and goods at near-record rates to mitigate supply chain disruptions as Britain leaves the EU accounted for [...]
Chinese cinemas show bumper profits, but growth slows January 1, 2019 Growth in China’s box office takings dropped to nine per cent in 2018, a reduction from the year before, state media has reported. The world’s second largest market for movies increased to 60.98bn yuan (£7bn) last year, but the pace of growth slowed from 13.45 per cent. Despite some big-budget flops, domestic films made up [...]
Trump claims China trade deal on the cards after ‘long and very good’ phone call with Xi December 30, 2018 Donald Trump has stoked fresh hopes the United States’ trade war with China is nearing its end, following a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The United States President tweeted: “Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China. Deal is moving along very well.” He added the trade deal would [...]
Nissan to cut back Chinese car production in opening of 2019 as US-China trade war slows sales December 28, 2018 Nissan has cut back its Chinese production plans for the first months of 2019, amid falling demand in the world’s biggest car market, according to reports. The company has followed Ford and Hyundai in cutting production, reportedly planning to make 30,000 fewer cars in the period to the end of February. China’s trade war with [...]
Chinese city leads global house price growth as Europe lags behind December 20, 2018 The Chinese city of Xi’an recorded the highest level of house price growth this year as Asia pulls ahead of a sluggish European market. House prices in Xi’an, which is the capital of Shaanxi Province in central China, grew 20 per cent in the year to September, according to Knight Frank’s Global Residential Cities Index. [...]
Oil prices hit new 14-month low after global selloff December 20, 2018 Oil prices fell to another 14-month low earlier today as markets worried a slowdown in the US economy could hit demand. The Brent crude standard dropped over four per cent to breach the $55 per barrel mark, landing as low as $54.82. Speculators were spooked after international markets fell on the US Federal Reserve’s decision [...]
For Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, 2018 was the year when trust in the tech giants evaporated December 20, 2018 The Faangs (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google-owner Alphabet) have been the darlings of the stock market for years. These tech giants have helped to change how we shop, communicate, work – even how we watch movies. But as they have grown in size, fears have also grown, especially about what they may do with so [...]
Softbank slumps in Tokyo debut after record-breaking IPO December 19, 2018 Shares in Japanese telecoms giant Softbank fell 15 per cent during its Tokyo debut as it record-breaking IPO failed to live up to expectations. Softbank raised roughly ¥2.65tn (£18.5bn) after pricing its shares at ¥1500 a piece in the country’s largest-ever IPO. But shares in the tech giant closed down 14.5 per cent at ¥1,282, [...]
From tech to Trump – here’s what prompted the big market moves of 2018 December 18, 2018 From Brexit to trade wars, nothing has been plain-sailing about 2018. It’s been a year of peaks and troughs across all major markets, so let’s have a look at the big moves of the past 12 months. Tech in turmoil This was the year when the tech giants raced to become the first ever $1 [...]
Global markets fall ahead of US Federal Reserve interest rates decision December 18, 2018 Global stock markets have fallen in anticipation of today’s US Federal Reserve meeting which could lead to an interest rate hike. US markets fell sharply last night and European markets initially followed suit this morning before rebounding. The Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite all fell more than two per cent last [...]