“Brexit tourists” from Hong Kong, China and UAE spent millions on British high streets this Christmas January 13, 2017 Tourist spending is expected to hit a record high this year, but figures to be published today show the weak pound has already given the UK economy a significant boost. So-called "Brexit tourists" took advantage of the pound's slump by spending more than £725m on British high streets in December, the data shows. Payment processor Worldpay analysed transaction data [...]
Imperial Brands lights up a joint venture deal with China Tobacco to expand into the world’s number one cigarette market January 11, 2017 Imperial Brands has made a move on the world’s largest cigarette market through a joint venture with state-owned China National Tobacco (CNTC). Shares in Imperial, the world’s fourth-largest tobacco company, shot up more than three per cent after the announcement, before closing up 0.95 per cent to 3,626.50p. CNTC has a hold on more than [...]
Green bond supply will stagnate in 2017 with no repeat of Chinese expansion January 11, 2017 The rapid increase in green investment bonds will grind to a halt in 2017 as Chinese issuers abstain from providing bumper supply to the market. The amount of green investment bonds issued globally in 2016 doubled to $90m, but such an increase will not be replicated this year, an HSBC research paper outlined. Read more: Government comes under fire for [...]
The price of Bitcoin has just fallen off a cliff after China said it is “monitoring” exchanges January 11, 2017 The price of bitcoin fell sharply today, after it emerged China's central bank is moving to "closely monitor" local bitcoin exchange businesses. The cryptocurrency fell as low as $784.56 in lunchtime trading, before settling just above $800, 10.7 per cent down. The People's Bank of China published a statement this morning saying it had formed a joint [...]
Hotels continue to be a favourable option for investors looking to the UK January 11, 2017 As the UK’s most popular tourist destination after London, Edinburgh plays a vital role in the UK tourism economy. Its preeminent position was underlined recently when Deloitte – for a third year running – named Scotland’s capital the UK’s most attractive location for hotel investment outside London. The figures certainly stack-up. The city achieves some [...]
Brexit uncertainty could drag on Europe’s economy says the World Bank as it forecasts a big slowdown in the UK economy January 10, 2017 Brexit uncertainty could drag down growth prospects across Europe according to the World Bank, as it forecasts a sharp slowdown in UK growth this year. UK GDP growth is predicted to fall from two per cent last year to 1.2 per cent in 2017, the World Bank’s twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report has found. In [...]
Ferrexpo’s share price pops on record iron ore pellet sales and cash turnaround update January 9, 2017 Shares in FTSE 250-listed miner Ferrexpo lifted more than four per cent in afternoon trading after the Ukraine-based group reported record sales and a bolstered balance sheet. Last year, Ferrexpo sold 11.7m tonnes (mt) of iron ore pellets, which are used in steelmaking, up from 11.3mt in 2015, the group said in a trading update today. [...]
President Xi loves football, but China’s spending spree won’t last long says ex-Manchester City man Sun Jihai January 9, 2017 Premier League clubs need not worry about losing their best players to the China, says former Manchester City defender Sun Jihai who predicts a slowdown in spending from the emerging football power. Chinese teams’ spending has exploded as some of the country’s richest men acquired football clubs in the wake of President Xi Jinping revealing [...]
McDonald’s works to cut costs by selling a majority stake in its China and Hong Kong businesses January 9, 2017 McDonald's is set to sell 80 per cent of its China and Hong Kong businesses for up to $2.1bn (£1.7bn) in an effort to franchise more of its global restaurants. The deal with Chinese conglomerate Citic and US asset manager Carlyle will help McDonald's cut operating costs in its Asian businesses. Originally, the fast-food giant planned to raise up [...]
Chinese consumers lead worldwide resurgence in smartphone sales January 9, 2017 Global smartphone sales are set to rebound after dropping to a three-year low last year, according to a survey carried out by Accenture. More than half of respondents said that they planned to buy a new smartphone in the next year whereas only 48 per cent said the same last year. The Asian market will [...]