Trade war threatens £265bn blow to global economy as backlash against Trump’s protectionism grows July 2, 2018 An escalation in the brewing trade war among the world’s biggest economies threatens to deliver a £265bn blow to the global economy next year, new forecasts show, as the backlash grows against US President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies. The powerful US Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest lobby group with more than 3m members, has [...]
Revealed: June’s top and bottom performing funds July 2, 2018 June was dominated by trade war fears as Donald Trump said he would add further tariffs on Chinese and European goods should there be any retaliation to his initial tranche of measures. The prospect of mercantilist trade policies unnerved investors concerned about future growth. There are few, if any, real winners in a full-blown trade [...]
Chinese stocks down 2.5 per cent today as tariff deadline looms July 2, 2018 Chinese stocks took another battering today as new tariffs from both Washington and Beijing will take effect this week. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down over 2.5 per cent – the worst start to the second half of a year since 2015. And losses rippled across Asia with Japanese and South Korean markets both [...]
Tom Davies talks eyewear, designing glasses for Clark Kent, and moving his factory from China to Brentford July 2, 2018 What do Ed Sheeran, Angelina Jolie, and Carrie Fisher, have in common? They’ve all worn spectacles created by luxury eyewear designer Tom Davies. The entrepreneur’s designs are highly sought after. Not only does he count celebrities among his clientele, but his glasses have appeared on the big screen. In 2014, he was asked to design [...]
For your eyes only: meet luxury eyewear designer Tom Davies July 2, 2018 WHAT do Ed Sheeran, Angelina Jolie, and Carrie Fisher, have in common? They’ve all worn spectacles created by luxury eyewear designer Tom Davies. The entrepreneur’s designs are highly sought after. Not only does he count celebrities among his clientele, but his glasses have appeared on the big screen. In 2014, he was asked to design [...]
FTSE 100 softech Micro Focus’ share price is rising, after annoucing the sale of Suse to private equity house EQT July 2, 2018 Software provider and IT management consultancy Micro Focus has announced the sale of its Suse open source subsidiary for $2.535bn (£1.93bn) to Swedish private equity house EQT, giving its share price a boost as markets opened. Suse is worth almost one-third of Micro Focus’s business, acquired by the company as part of an all-share purchase [...]
Playtech’s share price has dropped dramatically, after its second profit warning this year July 2, 2018 Playtech the maker of gambling software for clients like News UK, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power, issued a second profit warning yesterday for this year, causing its share price to drop dramatically as markets opened. Blaming an “increasingly competitive backdrop” for the continued hit on its revenues in Asia, the company’s share price fell by 23 [...]
There’s a new Chinese tech venture in town, and it’s backed by the London investors that supported Softbank’s Vision Fund July 2, 2018 London-based global investment firm Centricus has announced it will be launching a Chinese tech venture fund in partnership with China Merchants Group (CMG) and SPF Group, for a total of 100bn yuan (£11.41bn). Labelled the 'China New Era Technology Fund', the partnership will see the state-owned CMG deploy 40bn yuan in capital alongside additional Chinese-based [...]
Last Week in the City: Amazon buys a pharmacy June 29, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (25 to 29 June 2018). The FTSE 100 traded little over the week, despite a rally in oil prices. There was more bad news from the retail sector after The John Lewis Partnership warned on profits [...]
The GKN break-up is a test for Melrose, don’t bank on a tax cut and Marc Bolland is not just any NED June 29, 2018 Vultures. Asset-strippers. Corporate predators. The board of Melrose has had these perjorative labels and more thrown at it in the months since its initial bid approach for GKN. This week’s approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States of the £8bn takeover removed the final obstacle to a deal that elicited greater [...]