Car auctioneer float comes to a screeching halt October 21, 2014 BRITISH Car Auctions (BCA), owner of the webuyanycar.com, became the latest casualty of weak equity markets yesterday after it was forced to pull its impending stock listing. The private equity-owned group, backed by Clayton Dublier & Rice, blamed “volatility in global equity markets” for pulling down the listing, which aimed to raise £200m. “The board [...]
Jaguar Land Rover opens new Chinese factory in bid to expand October 21, 2014 Jaguar Land Rover opened its first overseas factory yesterday, with the inauguration of the Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company plant in Changshu, just north of Shanghai. The Range Rover Evoque will be the first model built at the plant, which was created through a 10.9bn renminbi (£1.1bn) joint investment plan with Chinese company Chery [...]
As its growth falls yet again, could a flagging China spell disaster for the global economy? October 21, 2014 Freya Beamish, economist at Lombard Street Research, says Yes. The Chinese authorities are in no man’s land. They have accepted slower growth but are not yet ready to go for the financial and wider reforms that would usher in a new phase of expansion. We calculate our own Chinese GDP numbers. Our estimate shows that [...]
Our obsession with inequality is dangerous – the emerging world knows better October 20, 2014 Forget political polls and voting intentions. The most important survey of recent months came from Pew Research on the attitudes of populations worldwide to capitalism and inequality. As many Western economies labour under the strain of slow growth, an intellectual narrative has taken hold, arguing that free market capitalism causes unacceptable levels of inequality. But [...]
Dalian Wanda puts One Nine Elms homes on sale October 20, 2014 Another 200 homes will go on sale in London’s Nine Elms regeneration area as China’s biggest property company prepares to launch its £700m residential scheme this week. Dalian Wanda, which is led by the country’s wealthiest man Wang Jianlin, bought the Market Towers site at Vauxhall last year from Irish developer Green Property, marking its [...]
Don’t panic: Why the bull market still has further to run October 16, 2014 THERE has been a tremendous pick-up in volatility in markets recently, particularly equity markets. While this will be worrying for investors, I think the current weakness will prove to be a mid-cycle correction and the US bull market still has further to run. The catalyst for what is happening is the strengthening US dollar, which [...]
Dim sum debut: UK completes first renminbi bond sale in push to build foreign currency reserves October 14, 2014 City dealmakers scored an unexpectedly big success yesterday, selling a 3bn renminbi (£300m) bond for the government. The sale gives the square mile a welcome boost after the turmoil of the past month after the Scottish referendum, wobbles in the flotation market and uncertainty over oil prices. It is the first time a western state [...]
Burberry sales jump despite tough market October 14, 2014 BURBERRY warned yesterday that conditions in some of its markets, including China, were getting tougher, despite a 14 per cent increase in first-half sales, sending shares down almost four per cent. The luxury group said total revenues reached £1.1bn in the six months to 30 September, thanks to strong performance across all regions. However, it [...]
Miners and robust US results help to lift FTSE off slump – London Report October 14, 2014 A RISE in major mining stocks, yesterday coupled with solid US corporate results, enabled Britain’s top equity index to rise off 15-month lows. The FTSE 100 index had been pegged back near those lows for much of the day, but then rose after the US stock market was boosted by robust results from Citigroup and [...]
With the FTSE 100 trading close to 12-month lows, will it fall further by the end of the year? October 13, 2014 Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. The FTSE is currently trading below its long-term average compared to company profits, but that doesn’t mean it won’t go further into deficit. Markets are fickle beasts over the short term, and there’s no telling how long, or deep, the current bout of risk aversion will [...]