Profit at Tata Motors slides but beats forecast, share price plummets anyway February 11, 2016 Indian car maker and owner of Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors, has reported a profit slump of of two per cent in the third quarter, hitting 35.1bn rupees (£357m), as China’s economic slowdown drags on sales. Tata Motor’s share price is down to its lowest level since August 2013, closing down 5.5 per cent with [...]
Manchester United second quarter results: What’s behind the share price slump? A loss of faith in the Glazer model or Louis van Gaal’s team? February 11, 2016 Manchester United were recently tipped by Deloitte to reclaim their position as the world's richest football club, yet investors do not appear to be reciprocating the faith in football's premier commercial juggernaut. Over $800m (£345m) has been wiped off the club's market value and its share price has slumped by 22.5 per cent since first [...]
Why bank share prices are falling: Liquidity levels are borderline economic recession – and the world is facing another funding crisis February 11, 2016 Global investors are rushing to ‘safe’ assets. Many government bond yields have turned negative and gold, so long out of fashion, is spurting higher. Financial markets are cyclical and typically suffer sell-offs every 8/9 years: 1966, 1974, 1981, 1990, 1998, 2007/08 and now 2015/16. Yet, there is a smell of panic across the trading floors [...]
UK steel crisis: As business secretary Sajid Javid faces pressure to save thousands of job he deserves credit for taking a principled stance February 11, 2016 Should we slam heavy tariffs on Chinese imports in the wake of Britain’s steel manufacturing crisis? For some, the answer is a simple “yes” – the government has a responsibility to defend our industries and jobs, so they say. For others, the answer is a straightforward “no” – protectionism, while helping some local businesses in [...]
UK steel crisis: Steel industry attacks business secretary Sajid Javid, saying it was “galling” to rule out higher tariffs for Chinese steel February 10, 2016 Business secretary Sajid Javid rejected calls for higher tariffs on Chinese steel today, less than one week after signing a letter with his counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Luxembourg demanding that the European Commission "use every means available and take strong action" in response to "unfair trade practices". Javid told MPs on the Business, Innovation [...]
Mazars revenue grows by 14 per cent for year ended August 2015, as advisory services grow by 25 per cent February 10, 2016 Mazars has today reported revenue of £149.7m in its UK business for its year ended August 2015, a rise of 14 per cent compared to £130.9m the year before. The accountancy firm also announced a boost in its profits to £28.8m, up 10 per cent from £26.2m in 2014. Phil Verity, UK senior partner at Mazars, said: "This [...]
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen flags risk to growth from financial market turmoil February 10, 2016 US interest rates could stay on hold for longer if the current financial market volatility persists. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen warned that continuing swings in financial markets could partially derail the economy's growth, and said financial conditions had already become "less supportive". However she dismissed the idea that the Federal Reserve may need to [...]
HSBC: After nearly a year of mulling its domicile, would it matter if the bank moved its headquarters from London? February 10, 2016 Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG, says Yes. Fundamentally, HSBC’s residency in London makes sense. The bank may have ambitions in emerging markets, and may have ringfenced its UK operations, but to depart for Asia would seem like an odd move. It would separate the bank from its peers, who have realised that the geographical [...]
This chart shows, in percentage terms, exactly how much has been wiped off global markets including the FTSE 100, Nasdaq and S&P 500 since the beginning of the year February 9, 2016 Depending on your view, the world is on the brink of yet another global recession or in the process of having a bit of a confidence wobble. Either way, markets have suffered badly. Analyst David Buik, at Panmure Gordon, has ranked the worst-performing global markets so far this year. And although Chinese markets have made [...]
Oil prices: Will rising Chinese demand lift all oil tankers, or is that just another market cliche? February 9, 2016 Let's face it, I am as guilty as anyone – perhaps even a little bit more guilty than most, truth be told. Guilty of adding to the noise which is clearly befuddling investors as they try to negotiate these schizophrenic markets. My lame excuse, I suppose, is that it’s kind of what I’m paid to [...]