Donald Trump is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in powder keg Asia December 12, 2016 Donald Trump is off to a surprisingly good start. While his enemies in the Democratic party and the American press (which is largely the same thing) froth at the mouth, enraged that their world view has been found wanting, the President-elect has assembled a thoroughly solid cabinet up to now. While there are some (to coin [...]
National Grid is planning a special dividend after the £14bn sale of its gas network December 8, 2016 Subsidiaries of China and Qatar's sovereign wealth funds are among the investors who have bought a 61 per cent stake in National Grid’s gas pipelines for £13.8bn, which will see £4bn returned to shareholders. National Grid said it had sold a 61 per cent equity interest in its NG Gas Distribution to a consortium of investors called the Quad [...]
Why do some nations hold more gold? December 7, 2016 As an asset, gold is entirely speculative. It provides no income or dividends, and has few industrial or medical applications. Investors buy it only in the confidence that humans’ peculiar and enduring fascination with the lustrous metal will ensure its value through the decades and centuries to come. Unlike other securities, its price is not dictated [...]
Jaguar Land Rover appoints Chinese director to board as it gears up for boost in production in China December 6, 2016 Jaguar Land Rover has its sights set on bolstering its presence in China, with the appointment of an executive director for China. Qing Pan will be joining the board from 1 January 2017 in the new role, where he will lead JLR's business in the country. He previously worked at VW and Audi, and will also [...]
Bank of England: Households will struggle to pay debts if interest rates rise December 6, 2016 UK households could struggle to meet debt repayments if interest rates rise, according to the Bank of England, as it confirmed the conclusions of last week's financial stability report. The Bank said "risk of a further sharp adjustment in fixed income markets remained” owing to the global economic environment. The minutes of the bank's Financial Policy Committee [...]
Jeremy Hunt tries to calm China’s fear of a bad Brexit deal December 6, 2016 Jeremy Hunt told worried Chinese investors today Britain's doors are still open to global business after Brexit. For Chinese investors looking to break into the larger European Union market, Britain is seen as an entry point. With uncertainty surrounding what kind of deal Britain will get with the EU, investors are worried about what this means for China, Reuters reported. [...]
How low rates affect stockmarket returns December 5, 2016 The world has been living with low interest rates for eight years but such periods are not new. Both the US and UK saw rates below 1% for most of the two decades spanning the Second World War, while Japan has been living with sub-1% rates since 1995. Stockmarkets performed very differently in each case, [...]
Britain is ready to take a bigger slice of the valuable Chinese tourism market December 5, 2016 VisitBritain has teamed up with Hainan Airlines and Alitrip, Alibaba Group's tourism arm, to increase travel from the world's most valuable outbound market. Chinese visitors to the UK stay longer, spend more and travel more widely across Britain than other international visitors, but the group only moved into Britain's top 10 most valuable inbound markets for the first time [...]
AppLovin: Firing the 5G starting gun December 5, 2016 Dubbed the “Brexit Budget,” this year’s Autumn Statement was one of few surprises – other than that it would be the last. The chancellor certainly lived up to his “Spreadsheet Phil” epithet. But Philip Hammond gave a welcome nod to UK tech industries, all too aware that their impetus will play a prominent role in [...]
China has hit supercar owners with a 10 per cent tax as it cracks down on luxury December 1, 2016 China's crackdown on luxury just went up a gear. It's imposed an additional 10 per cent tax on super cars, so the likes of Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and Ferrari are all affected. The tax will be applied to cars costing more than 1.3m yuan (£151,024) and is part of an effort to clamp down [...]