Search engine giant Baidu is unfazed by Google’s potential return to China | City A.M. August 7, 2018 The chief executive of domestic Chinese search engine Baidu has said he is prepared to take on Google if the US giant returns to the market. In a posting on a private social media account today, Robin Li said if the two companies come head to head, “Baidu will win again”. “Chinese companies today have [...]
Softbank’s Indian Uber challenger brand Ola is launching in the UK | City A.M. August 7, 2018 Ola, the Indian ride-hailing firm backed by Japanese mega-investor Softbank, is bringing its services to the UK. Ola’s app will allow riders to choose from services across both private hire vehicles and black cabs, in a bid to shake things up by challenging major UK taxi disruptors Uber and Gett at the same time. The [...]
3 reasons why the world economy is slowing August 6, 2018 Losing momentum Although near-term activity indicators remain stable, growth has been less synchronised in 2018 than it was in 2017 when major regions were all accelerating. Asia and Europe appear to be slowing, and Friday's jobs data in the US suggests that the world economy is entering a soft patch. We see three main factors [...]
Last Week in the City: Trade fears re-emerge August 3, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (30 July to 3 August 2018). Interest rates were raised in the UK for the second time since the financial crisis, but the move was widely expected. The earnings season continued. Growth in all regions was [...]
China urges US to ‘calm down’ as trade dispute escalates over new tariff threats | City A.M. August 2, 2018 China has urged the US to ‘calm down’ after Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on $200bn (£153m) worth of goods as punishment for it not offering trade concessions. Trump’s trade adviser Robert Lighthizer said the US president had taken the decision to up the levy from an original 10 per [...]
Property price growth for the world’s most expensive residences hits five-year low but London slowdown improves | City A.M. August 2, 2018 Transparency measures and a clampdown on foreign buyers has pushed the world’s most expensive properties to their lowest levels of growth in more than five years, while London’s slowdown shows signs of improvement. Prime property has suffered its weakest rise in growth since the end of 2012 over the last three months, according to the [...]
July’s top and bottom performing funds August 2, 2018 The threat of global trade wars continued to weigh on sentiment towards Chinese equities during July. However, US stocks have remained resilient. President Trump has always said that America could withstand a trade war easier than most thought and the market, at least so far, appears to be in agreement. Mr Trump believes that because [...]
House of Fraser’s new owner issues profit warning | City A.M. August 1, 2018 House of Fraser’s future prospects have been dealt another blow after its owner issued a profit warning, throwing its emergency funding into doubt. C.banner, the Chinese company which also owns Hamleys, issued a statement to the market today warning its profits will be lower and cancelling a planned placing due to the plunge in its [...]
It’s Tesla’s make or break time: Here’s what you need to know before tonight’s results | City A.M. August 1, 2018 Investors are waiting with bated breath to see what Tesla brings out in its second quarter earnings report tonight, as the company nears its make or break deadline. If you’ll be looking out for the results as markets close in the US, here’s what we think you might want to know about. Legal issues It [...]
City of London office take-up rises after landmark Square Mile deals such as Chinese embassy move | City A.M. August 1, 2018 Take-up of offices in the Square Mile jumped 10 per cent over the last year, as demand for City of London commercial space shows no sign of slowing down. In the 12 months to June roughly 3.5m square feet was taken up in London’s financial district, rising 31 per cent higher than the 10-year average [...]