Leave the EU’s Customs Union for a serious trade and aid policy September 26, 2016 It will not be enough to leave the EU’s Single Market. We need to leave its highly corrosive Customs Union too. Indeed, as a new report from Global Britain into the links between international trade and development aid shows, leaving the Customs Union is a prerequisite for making globalisation of benefit to the whole world – [...]
Is China’s toxic debt pile the greatest threat the global economy faces? September 26, 2016 Mike Jakeman, global analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, says Yes. The Chinese government has already performed one economic miracle – in the 30 years from 1980, it pulled almost 700m people out of extreme poverty. Now it requires another – to wean its fattened economy off a diet of public investment and onto helpings of household [...]
Happy Brexiversary – these are the funds that have performed the worst since the EU referendum September 23, 2016 It's been three months since the Brexit vote. A lot has happened – but some of the worst hit (apart from David Cameron and George Osborne) were property funds. Several funds were forced to block withdrawals after the Brexit vote – closing the gate on £15bn-£20bn worth of funds – because investors were taking out so much money; several more imposed fair [...]
Marriott and Starwood have finally sealed their $13bn deal September 23, 2016 Marriott International said today it has finally completed the $13bn (£9.9bn) acquisition of Starwood Hotels, creating a $36bn hotels giant with 1.1m rooms. The deal has been beset by delays, including an eleventh-hour bid by a Chinese consortium which nearly scuppered Marriott's bid altogether, and a 60-day delay imposed by the Chinese ministry of commerce. Starwood shareholders will receive [...]
Yahoo hack hit 500m user accounts – putting pressure on its Verizon deal September 22, 2016 Internet company Yahoo has revealed a massive data breach that compromised as many as 500m of its users' personal details. Yahoo said it believes the hack – which happened in 2014 – was carried out by a state-sponsored actor. No financial information is thought to have been compromised. Read more: Will Yahoo ever be a verb? Account information, including names, [...]
Postal Savings Bank of China in world’s biggest IPO in two years September 21, 2016 China's sixth-largest lender by assets has raised $7.4bn (£5.6bn) in the world’s biggest initial public offering since Chinese ecommerce retailer Alibaba’s 2014 float. The state-owned Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) was priced at the lower end of expectations in Hong Kong and was heavily reliant on cornerstone investors – big buyers that get priority [...]
Marriott International’s takeover of Starwood Hotels & Resorts to close this week after Chinese ministry of commerce gives green light September 20, 2016 Marriott International’s takeover of rival Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is set to complete this week after China’s antitrust authority granted approval for the $13.6bn (£10.4bn) merger today. The Chinese ministry of commerce was the only regulator pending approval for the tie-up, after the hospitality giants secured premerger green lights from more than 40 other [...]
Pinewood Studios wants to make it in China September 20, 2016 Forget making it in Hollywood – one of the biggest names in UK film is off to break…. China. Pinewood, the studio best known as the home of James Bond and Star Wars, said today it has opened an office in Beijing. The venture will be led by the company's international project executive, Amanda Halliday. Read [...]
Things move slowly in the WTO – there’s a significant leadership opportunity for the UK September 20, 2016 Step changes typically pass unnoticed until after the event that triggered them has passed. The step change anticipated if Leave succeeded was a huge loss on the markets. That did not occur. But there is an unanticipated step change. An opportunity has emerged for the UK to lead action in reconstructing the World Trade Organisation [...]
Skyscanner acquired by Chinese travel giant Ctrip in a £1.4 billion deal September 19, 2016 Edinburgh-based travel search company Skyscanner has been acquired by Chinese travel giant Ctrip in a £1.4 billion deal. Ctrip, a Chinese online travel agent, claims two thirds share of the market in China. Headquartered in Shanghai, it was founded in 1999 and began life as a review site, then branched to hotel business and across [...]