BMW prepares to plough billions into Chinese joint venture October 11, 2018 BMW is prepared to spend big in order to take control of Brilliance Automotive (BBA), its joint venture in China, it emerged today. The German manufacturer is set to part with €3.6bn (£3.14bn) to up its stake in the company from 50 per cent to 75 per cent, and will also invest more than €3bn to [...]
Shares in Burberry fall as Chinese appetite for luxury goods slows October 10, 2018 Shares in Burberry dropped over eight per cent Wednesday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the luxury goods sector over worries of a slowdown in the Chinese market. Chinese consumer confidence has peaked, the bank said, and consumption trends will likely slow further in the second half of the year before a slight upswing in 2019. Read [...]
Brand Boris: Johnson needs to shed his disrupter image if he wants to become a leader October 8, 2018 There was a particularly pithy Tweet doing the rounds just after the Conservative party conference last week: “in summary: Boris’s speech not good enough for him to take over; May’s not bad enough to be kicked out”. So, was Boris Johnson really just one speech away from leadership? Possibly. Because Boris, just like Donald Trump, “has [...]
Five charts that explain the case for emerging markets October 8, 2018 Investors generally understand the importance of emerging markets in terms of their economic impact but, perhaps due to lack of knowledge, often struggle to know how best to reflect this in their portfolios. Those investors have ignored what are some of the world's best-performing financial markets since the turn of the millennium. What is more, [...]
Slippery slope for ski property as prices take a tumble despite record snowfall October 4, 2018 As Europe’s leading ski centres crank up their lifts ahead of the early-season starting later this month, new figures suggest some resorts on the Swiss alpine slopes are undergoing a property slump. Despite record levels of snowfall and growing investment in infrastructure, house prices across the Alps dipped 0.5 per cent over the last year, [...]
US and Canada ease trade fears with last-minute deal to revamp Nafta October 1, 2018 Canada struck a dramatic eleventh-hour trade deal with the US and Mexico last night, putting an end to a year of tense economic negotiations in North America. In an effort to revamp the current North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), the three countries reached a trilateral agreement only hours before a midnight deadline, quelling threats [...]
New homes: Our pick of the new builds and conversions going on sale in London this weekend September 28, 2018 New developments on the market this week Lime Quarter, Bromley-by-Bow From £300,000 Help to Buy homes are going on sale next to Devons Road DLR. The first 10 homes launched last night with one and two bedroom apartments available to purchase through the government’s equity loan scheme. Overall, there will be 130 homes, including three [...]
Chinese currency transactions in London soar 30 per cent in second quarter September 26, 2018 Chinese currency transactions in London increased by more than 30 per cent this year, hitting £70bn in the second quarter. The capital retained its position as the largest renminbi (RMB) clearing centre outside of Greater China, according to a report by City of London Corporation and the People's Bank of China. Read more: China accuses US of [...]
Q&A: Adam Tooze on the financial crisis, Trump and the City of London after Brexit September 25, 2018 Ten years after the start of the financial crisis, Columbia University historian Adam Tooze’s epic work of economic history, Crashed, describes a world still coming to terms with its aftermath. He spoke to City A.M. about the US, the City of London, and where the next crash could come from. Why write this book [...]
Price wars versus trade wars: Markets work just fine when we leave them alone September 21, 2018 David Lewis is ramping up a food fight of epic proportions. The chief executive of Tesco has launched a spin-off chain of discount supermarkets called Jack’s (named after Tesco’s founder Jack Cohen). The aim is to become more competitive with German chains Aldi and Lidl, which have been saturating the market with cheaper products since [...]