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 [...]
Trade war heating up between the US and China has ability to ‘derail the global economy’, ratings agency Moody’s warns | City A.M. July 31, 2018 The escalating trade dispute between America and China triggered by President Donald Trump “has the potential to derail the global economy”, an influential ratings agency warns today. The warning comes as representatives from some of the world’s biggest economies gather in Geneva to discuss their response to Trump’s aggressive trade policies. Today’s summit involves nations [...]
UK adtech startup Mirriad signs deal with Chinese behemoth Tencent | City A.M. July 26, 2018 London-based video-advertising technology startup Mirriad has today signed a deal with Chinese media giant Tencent. The deal will utilise Mirriad’s in-video tech to place ads in online video content, even once its in post-production. City A.M. understands that staff from Mirriad will join and pitch with Tencent’s advertising teams as part of the deal, from [...]
Sorrell ramps up tensions with WPP after resignation of Chinese director July 25, 2018 Former WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell has ramped up tensions between him and his former employer by commenting on the exit of one of its Chinese board members. Hugo Shong stepped down from the board earlier this year, saying that "additional commitments outside WPP and increased pressure on his time and availability" had led him [...]
Facebook has quietly set up shop in China, despite its sites being blocked there | City A.M. July 24, 2018 Facebook has opened a subsidiary with $30m (£22.2m) in registered capital in China, using its Hong Kong business as the sole shareholder. An official business registration was filed for the company in Hangzhou last week, Reuters first reported. Its operations will include network information technology development and related services, investment consultancy and marketing planning. Facebook’s [...]
Donald Trump “ready to go” on applying tariffs on all Chinese imports | City A.M. July 20, 2018 Donald Trump has said he is “ready” to push tariffs on all Chinese goods coming into the US as the President continues his stand off against Beijing. The US already has tariffs on $34bn-worth of goods coming in from the country, which has received tit-for-tat measures. But Trump told CNBC he was “ready to go [...]
Last Week in the City: August rate rise now less likely July 20, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (16 to 20 July 2018). The chances of an interest rate rise at the Bank of England’s August meeting appeared to recede this week after inflation data was more subdued than expected and retail sales data [...]
Chinese tech giant Alibaba makes $1.43bn investment in digital advertising firm Focus Media | City A.M. July 19, 2018 Chinese tech group Alibaba has snapped up a minority stake in digital advertising firm Focus Media in a deal worth $1.43bn (£1.1bn). In a statement, the company said it would buy a 6.62 per cent in the firm, and could increase its stake by five per cent in the next year. Alibaba will also invest [...]
How might a trade war play out? July 19, 2018 The Trump team appears to see trade wars as a central policy rather than a bargaining strategy. With the possible advent of further tariffs on European and Chinese exports, we look at the potential consequences such as higher inflation and lower growth. The impact on interest rates and currencies While the US has begun to [...]
Why is this such a worried bull market? July 18, 2018 Normally bull markets are full of people who are optimistic. They radiate enthusiasm for economies and shares. They hunt down markets or individual stocks that look cheap compared to the rest and recommend them. They recommend simply buying the global or local market to join in a general uplift in shares they expect. Eventually you [...]