SABmiller sees Africa expansion pay off as continent booms April 16, 2015 SABmiller sales crept up in the last quarter as the world’s second largest beverage firm’s focus on African markets paid off it emerged yesterday. The company recorded a two per cent increase in lager sales driven by strong demand in South Africa and a recovery in the Chinese market. Africa saw total drink sales rise [...]
Burberry offsets Hong Kong woe with US growth April 15, 2015 BURBERRY yesterday posted a jump in underlying sales in the second half thanks to double-digit growth in Europe and the US, helping to offset a further slowdown in Hong Kong. The wealthy Asian financial centre is a profitable, high margin market for Burberry and accounts for around 10 per cent of sales, with tourists making [...]
Ashmore assets shrink again as investors flee emerging markets April 14, 2015 The figures Ashmore struggled to combat a retreat from emerging markets as its assets under management shrunk once again in the third quarter ended 31 March 2015. Total assets dropped to an estimated $61.1bn (£41.66bn), a fall of 4.1 per cent from the $63.7bn held at the end of the last quarter. The investment [...]
LVMH posts strong start to year despite some wine woes in China April 13, 2015 FRENCH luxury goods group LVMH posted a three per cent rise in like-for-like first-quarter sales yesterday, boosted by the weak euro against the dollar and a strong performance from its key brand Louis Vuitton. Total sales in the first three months of the year increased by 16 per cent on a reported basis to €8.3bn [...]
Weak Chinese data hits FTSE mining stocks – London Report April 13, 2015 THE UK’s top equity index slipped from record highs yesterday as surprisingly weak data from China weighed on mining stocks, with investors also growing cautious before next month’s General Election. The FTSE 100 index, which touched a record high of 7,095.36 points on Friday, retreated 25.47 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 7,064.30 points by [...]
As the Chinese economy sees exports plunge in March, are fears of a hard landing justified? April 13, 2015 Alessandro Theiss, an economist at Oxford Economics, says Yes Slow starts to the year are not uncommon in China – and the timing of the Lunar New Year makes it hard to draw inferences from just a few months’ data. But plummeting exports and a contraction in import volumes suggest that Chinese domestic demand has [...]
European markets fall from record highs as political uncertainty hits sterling April 13, 2015 Following the jubilant highs achieved by European markets on Friday, things looked rather more muted this morning. Stocks across Europe started the day down amid political and economic uncertainty, while Greece prepared to enter yet another last-chance saloon. The FTSE 100 was down 0.29 per cent in early trading, while Germany's Dax fell 0.27 per [...]
Are markets too sanguine about the risks that the impending General Election poses? April 12, 2015 Nick Peters, co-portfolio manager of Fidelity Multi Asset Income fund, says Yes. Over the last six months, the FTSE 100 has risen just over 10 per cent, lagging behind US and European markets. But this hasn’t been a result of markets worrying about May’s election: it’s driven more by the heavy bias of the FTSE [...]
Bordeaux: Why the 2014 vintage is the best since 2010 and which wines you should invest in now April 10, 2015 Bordeaux 2014 We consider the 2014 vintage to be the best vintage since 2010; quality ranges from good to truly exceptional. The Left Bank overshadowed the Right Bank, with wines from St. Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe particularly superb and Margaux variable. The Right Bank was more uneven in quality, except amongst the leading estates. [...]
Is China planning to build a railway under Mount Everest? April 9, 2015 Its summit is the highest place on earth at 8,848m above sea level and scaling its peak is deadly: Mount Everest claims the lives of just over two per cent of those attempting to scale it. Now the Chinese government is considering building a railway underneath the giant peak, linking China with Nepal, a country [...]