Do stock markets care about GDP? Maybe, but not in the way you might expect April 29, 2016 Looking across the western world, from the United Kingdom to the United States to the Eurozone, it is clear that domestic growth data has minimal immediate impact on stock markets. This morning, Eurozone GDP quite impressively beat expectations, but 10 minutes later, the Euro Stoxx 50 was lower. Within half an hour of the slowdown [...]
Baidu’s share price jumps in after hours trading after the company reports revenue to have soared April 28, 2016 Chinese search engine Baidu's share price jumped almost five per cent in after hours trading after the company reported strong financial results. Sometimes dubbed China's Google, Baidu reported first quarter total revenue had climbed 24.3 per cent year-on-year to 15.82bn yuan (£1.68bn). The company also said that online marketing revenue had risen to 14.93bn yuan in the three months [...]
Heron Tower owners secure £400m refinancing deal April 28, 2016 The owners of the Heron Tower in the City have agreed a £400m refinancing deal with ING and German bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW). The two banks have jointly underwritten the five-year senior term loan in a deal believed to value the tower at around £720m. Law firm Baker & McKenzie advised the banks on the deal while Olswang acted for the [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Clinton vs Trump – whose economic policy is better for markets? April 27, 2016 It is a momentous time in terms of geopolitics. A plethora of major events with potentially significant investment consequences will take place this year. They range from the Brexit hurricane in the UK, to tectonic shifts in the oil economy abroad. Even ostensibly local conflagrations, such as political deadlock in Brazil, may impact wider markets. But [...]
Standard Chartered’s share price leaps as troubled bank begins to show signs of turnaround April 26, 2016 Standard Chartered's share price leaped more than 10 per cent today, as the beleaguered bank revealed green shoots in its turnaround plan. The figures This time three months ago, StanChart was revealing an $876m (£601bn) underlying pre-tax loss, today it has reported a profit of $539m. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, operating pre-tax profit was up 264 per [...]
Fitch warns steel prices are about to fall even lower in the near-term April 25, 2016 Fitch has warned steel prices will fall even lower in the near-term, as Indian conglomerate Tata Steel desperately searches for a buyer of its Port Talbot steelworks. Low prices have played a key role in the crisis gripping Britain’s steel industry, leading to the closures of steelworks and thousands of job losses up and down the country. [...]
Greater sovereignty or smaller budgets: With polls tight ahead of the EU referendum, what would Brexit mean for the marketing and advertising industries? April 25, 2016 On 23 June, adland will have a tough decision to make – whether to be at a party in Cannes or a polling booth in Britain. It is hard to assess the impact Brexit would have on the marketing and advertising industry, and its outlook on the issue is predictably varied. Firms differ in size, [...]
RBS and other UK banks facing first quarter earnings woe after US lenders posted a sharp drop in profit April 25, 2016 British banks are set to post first quarter profits this week that are weighed down by the rising risk of Brexit, bad debt, and poor investment banking performance. The difficult period has already dragged down profits at some the biggest US banks, though they largely managed to beat low estimates. Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Bank of [...]
Chinese consumers are changing their habits rapidly as luxury has suffered a slow death and online takes off April 24, 2016 Beijing is awash with restaurants, but locals Cherry and Andy Ho haven’t bothered going out to eat for months. The proliferation of Groupon-style coupons and deals means it’s easier to have food delivered. It’s half the cost, with no delivery charge – great for consumers, but not so good for some traditional businesses. Indeed, this was among [...]
The fortune of billionaire hedge fund manager Crispin Odey dwindled to mere millions last year April 22, 2016 The wealth of one of the UK's best-known hedge fund managers dwindled from billions to mere millions last year, new data has shown. The heart bleeds… According to figures from the Sunday Times Rich List, the fortune of Crispin Odey – the outspoken founder of Odey Asset Management – fell £200m in 2015, from £1.1bn to £900m. But [...]