Mortgage Advice Bureau IPO: Housing boom helps broker’s stock flotation November 11, 2014 The Mortgage Advice Bureau (Mab) defied choppy markets to price its initial public offering (IPO) yesterday. It has achieved healthy growth this year on the back of a strong housing market, and buyers looking for more help on loans as the prospects of an interest rate rise grow. The loan brokerage is set [...]
Dow and S&P eke out rises on a slow day – New York Report November 11, 2014 THE DOW and S&P 500 yesterday eked out a fifth session of record-closing highs, barely extending the market’s recent rally in light volume as consumer discretionary shares gained. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.16 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 17,614.9, a record high close. The S&P 500 gained 1.42 points, or 0.07 per [...]
The emerging market growth story: Is it due a comeback? November 11, 2014 EMERGING market investors saw spectacular annual returns of around 30 per cent between 2003 and 2007. Over those four years, the developing world enjoyed a virtuous cycle of strong commodity prices, high capital inflows, strong currencies and falling inflation. That cycle is now working in reverse – emerging markets have underperformed developed markets by 50 [...]
Russian bank VTB could de-list from London due to Ukraine sanctions November 10, 2014 Russian lender VTB is looking at de-listing in London and moving to Chinese stock markets, because international sanctions are squeezing its business. The bank listed in London in 2007, seeking the global capital markets focused in the UK. But pro-Russia separatists’ seizure of Crimea and fighting in Ukraine have led to sanctions on people close [...]
Inflation dips to four-year low in China as economy slows down November 10, 2014 Inflation in China remained low in October, signalling the economy was still cooling. The consumer price index – the headline inflation figure – was 1.6 per cent higher in October than it was last year, according to figures yesterday released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Annual CPI is at its lowest since December 2009. [...]
Singles’ Day 2014: China’s retail giants set for sales windfall during world’s biggest online shopping day November 10, 2014 China's biggest online retailers, including the recently floated Alibaba, are set for the biggest online shopping day in the world tomorrow. Last year, Singles’ Day was responsible for $5.8bn (£3.6bn) worth of orders for Alibaba alone. This year that figure is expected to grow by 42 per cent to around $8.2bn, according to market [...]
Alibaba share price rises to record high as company now worth over $100bn more than Amazon November 4, 2014 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba saw its shares rose to a record high yesterday of $106.07 after it reported strong second-quarter results and said it would invest for the long term to expand its customer base. It was Alibaba’s maiden quarterly results since its $25bn (£15.6bn) float on the New York Stock Exchange in September, when [...]
Allen & Overy advises on $1bn Xiaomi loan November 4, 2014 Allen & Overy is advising on a $1bn (£625m) loan for Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi. Partners Vicki Liu and Yvonne Ho lead the Allen & Overy team with support from associates Elaine Liu and Welber Yim. The loan is being provided by a syndicate of 29 lenders from Chinese, European, North American and [...]
Alibaba revenue rises 54 per cent in first quarterly results since IPO November 4, 2014 Alibaba’s first earnings report since its initial public offering (IPO) – the largest in history – was something of a mixed bag. While revenues beat analysts’ expectations, profits fell well below forecasts. Revenues came in at $2.74bn (£1.71bn) for the quarter ended 30 September 2014, beating an expected $2.61bn from analysts polled by Yahoo [...]
Xiaomi is spending $1bn on Internet TV content to takeover China’s smart TV market and rival Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent November 4, 2014 Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker, is planning to spend up to $1bn (£625m) on online TV content in an effort to dominate the smart TV market. The three-year-old company has already overtaken established players in the smartphone market to become the third largest in the world and is now setting its sites on the billion [...]