John Bennett explains why Europe is back in vogue: Stock markets are on form and euro weakness could provide an extra boost April 23, 2015 The Eurozone has lurched from crisis to crisis over the past five years. Despite the best efforts of the European Central Bank (ECB), the region has remained largely unresponsive to resuscitation attempts, and is still on life support. Deflation, non-existent economic growth, and ongoing battles with Greece – the prognosis does not look good. But [...]
How to avoid a hangover: Investing in fine wine April 23, 2015 Tom Welsh examines the risks and opportunities of this alternative asset class. At an auction in Hong Kong late last year, the record for the most expensive super-lot of wine ever sold was broken. Going for the equivalent of about $1,700 per glass, 114 bottles of Romanee- Conti Burgundy were bought for approximately $1.6m by [...]
House of Fraser posts record sales in first year under Nanjing Xinjiekou as it ramps up international expansion April 21, 2015 House of Fraser's new owners will be toasting their decision to acquire the business, which has revealed record like-for-likes for the year. The figures Like-for-like sales at the department store were up 5.8 per cent, with gross total value (GTV) rising to £1.3bn. Profits rose £29.6m to £460.2m while adjusted EBITDA rose seven per [...]
Suitors take a New Look at fashion chain April 19, 2015 NEW Look’s private equity backers are mulling plans to offload the chain – and its burgeoning presence in China could attract Chinese buyers into a bidding war for the group. Chinese conglomerate Fosun, which took a stake in Thomas Cook last month, CDH and Citic Capital were all reported yesterday to have taken a look [...]
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 [...]