Sugary snacks had their slowest growth since 2008 last year June 29, 2016 It seems the nutritionists have finally won. People across the world spurned snacking last year, when the global snack industry grew by just 1.7 per cent in retail value terms. This was the slowest rate of growth posted since 2008, according to data from Euromonitor International. However, Euromonitor forecasts the industry will return to more than [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open June 23, 2016 Polls are open for the UK's European Union membership vote. Markets are betting people will opt to stay however and rallying around the world. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. In the pre-market the S&P is up by 0.95 per cent, while the Nasdaq is one per cent higher. [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open June 22, 2016 It's the calm before the storm as investors await a second round of testimony from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen and the UK Brexit referendum approaches. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 14:30 London time. In the pre-market US futures are up, albeit barely. The S&P is up by 0.05 per cent. [...]
Wealth manager’s share price drops after reporting £1m loss in “challenging trading environment” June 22, 2016 The share price of wealth manager European Wealth dropped nearly two per cent this morning after the company reported a pre-tax loss of £1m. The results The alternative investment market (Aim)-listed firm reported a 20 per cent increase in funds under management (FUM) in the year to 31 December 2015. Read more: Wealth managers facing [...]
Tobacco volumes decline in China for the first time in two decades and bring down global volumes June 20, 2016 Smokers in China stubbing out their cigarettes helped the world's largest tobacco market shrink last year, while Western Europe enjoyed growth. China consumed almost 60bn fewer cigarettes in 2015. As the Asian powerhouse accounted for around 45 per cent of global total volumes, this drove the worldwide total down 2.1 per cent to 5.5 trillion sticks, according to research [...]
The UK is about to become a world leader in artificial intelligence June 20, 2016 With the news that Magic Pony has been acquired by Twitter, we are witnessing a crucial turning point – five of the world’s biggest technology companies have now purchased UK-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies. See Magic Pony Technology and Twitter, SwiftKey and Microsoft, VocalIQ and Apple, DeepMind and Google, and Evi and Amazon. Over the coming days [...]
Luxury brands must adapt to slower growth, warns Italian designer label boss June 19, 2016 The boss of one of Italy's leading luxury goods makers has warned there will be no let-up in the sector's slowdown, a scenario which firms must adapt to. Speaking before the Salvatore Ferragamo menswear show at Milan Men's fashion week, chief executive Michele Norsa told Reuters: "Growth will not be as strong as in past years, when the Chinese [...]
EU referendum: UK Steel says industry crisis would worsen if Britain leaves the EU June 16, 2016 A leading industry body has warned that a Brexit would exacerbate the crisis engulfing British steel, in a stark warning issued ahead of next week's referendum. Gareth Stace, director of Steel UK, said Britain is better able to prevent Chinese steel dumping which is contributing to low prices if it remains part of the EU. Read [...]
Uber’s Apple-backed rival Didi Chuxing just raised billions June 16, 2016 The taxi wars are hotting up. A day after reports of Uber raising a further $2bn (£1.4bn) to add to its already rather large cash pile, its rival in China has announced another $7bn in new funding that puts it squarely on the tail of the US startup when it comes to being the most well-funded private startup [...]
Tech titans rule 2016 with $268bn of M&A activity June 15, 2016 Technology is leading the global mergers and acquisitions sector this year with $267.6bn worth of deals announced so far, according to new research by financial markets platform Dealogic. This is only the second time on record that technology deals accounted for the maximum number of M&A deals made in a year. The year 2000 saw [...]