G20 ministers pledge to do more to protect global economy from Brexit vote turmoil July 23, 2016 The Group of 20 nations will do more the bolster global economic growth in the coming months, ministers said today as the organisation met in the Chinese city of Chengdu. Central bankers and finance ministers from G20 nations are meeting this weekend to discuss challenges facing the global economy that have been made worse by the UK's [...]
Megabrew deal: US Department of Justice gives clearance to AB InBev’s takeover of SABMiller July 20, 2016 The US Department of Justice has given the green light to Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) proposed takeover of British drinks giant SABMiller with conditions. AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, has agreed to divest SABMiller’s interest in MillerCoors to Molson Coors if the “megabrew” takeover goes ahead. In April, a US antitrust organisation flagged "serious competitive [...]
Industry veteran to head firm formed from Tata’s long products division July 20, 2016 British Steel, the company that emerged from the sale of Tata Steel's European long products business to Greybull Capital, announced today that it has appointed industry veteran, Roland Junck, as executive chairman. Junck, who has stints at the helms of Nyrstar and ArcelorMittal under his belt, will lead the new firm until a permanent chief executive is found. [...]
Theresa May has blessed the Arm acquisition, but fears are growing the new PM will be too interventionist on M&A July 18, 2016 Theresa May's new government gave its whole-hearted backing to the sale of Arm yesterday, but suggested it could block future deals if they are not considered to be “in the national interest”. May and her chancellor Philip Hammond hailed the £24bn purchase by Japanese giant Softbank, with Downing Street describing the deal as “a vote of confidence [...]
Arm Holdings is just the start of a great British asset sale July 18, 2016 The UK’s vote to leave the EU was seen by some Brexiteers as a chance to reclaim the country’s borders, draw up a new fortress UK, as well as make a protest vote against the rise in inequality after the financial crisis. But in the investment markets, the drawbridge has already been lowered. Thanks to [...]
The biggest acquisitions of British brands made by the Japanese July 18, 2016 Foreign firms have long been interested in breaking into the British market – and with sterling weak at the moment, the time is ripe for companies eager to make deals. With the confirmation of Japan’s SoftBank making a £24.3bn play for British tech firm Arm Holdings, we've decided to give you a brief breakdown of [...]
Flood of stimulus underpins Chinese growth in second quarter July 15, 2016 Easy monetary policy helped the Chinese economy expand slightly faster than expected in the second quarter, data published today showed. Official data suggested gross domestic product grew 6.7 per cent between April and June from a year-ago, unchanged from the first quarter, and slightly ahead of market expectations of a dip to 6.6 per cent. Read more: The South [...]
Investing in infrastructure: As confidence in property crumbles, government-backed projects may offer stable, long-term returns July 14, 2016 The gold price is up, bond yields are down, and investors are asking themselves which asset classes can shield their wealth until the impact of Brexit becomes clearer. But amid the political and economic uncertainty, two facts are unlikely to change. First, the UK population is growing, and may reach 70m people by 2027 if [...]
Copper charges through $5,000 mark ahead of Bank of England rate decision tomorrow July 13, 2016 Expectations for some long-awaited action over at the Bank of England helped copper surge past $5,000 per tonne today. Copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped as high as $5,032 a tonne, its strongest since 29 April, before falling back to $4,869 in mid-afternoon trading. Read more: Say what? Gold isn't a good hedge against economic crashes, [...]
China agrees to EU deal as steel industry crisis rumbles on July 13, 2016 EU leaders said today that they'd struck a deal with Beijing to discuss its flood of steel exports which have been blamed for the industry's crisis. It came as Chinese President Xi Jinping met European Council President, Donald Tusk, and European Commission President, Jean Claude Juncker, today. Juncker said the EU would use everything at its disposal [...]