New York Report: Wall Street up after biotech stocks surge May 22, 2014 WALL Street ended higher for the second straight session yesterday, led by small-cap stocks, while the Nasdaq climbed on a rally in biotech shares. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.02 points or 0.06 per cent, to end at 16,543.08. The S&P 500 gained 4.46 points or 0.24 per cent, to 1,892.49. The Nasdaq Composite [...]
China is the real victor as Putin looks East May 22, 2014 WHEN President Vladimir Putin voyaged to Beijing this week, it was with one thing in mind: strengthening Sino-Russian relations. The signing of a $400bn (£237bn) gas pipeline deal with Beijing formed the centrepiece of this effort. Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is pushing the US and Europe away, and Putin is looking to reorient towards an [...]
China’s house sector to slow May 21, 2014 THE CHINESE property market was downgraded by credit ratings agency Moody’s yesterday, with the group now expecting a “significant slowdown”. The group cut their view of the sector from stable to negative. While Moody’s still expect some growth in property sales, of up to five per cent, the expansion is a major drop from the 26.6 per [...]
Asian markets slide after Chinese house prices disappoint May 19, 2014 Asian markets have suffered declines as weak housing data from China renewed fears that the slowdown in the world's second largest economy could be getting worse. House prices for new homes rose in 44 of 70 cities surveyed last month, compared with 56 cities is March. The People's Bank of China has instructed financial institutions [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 19 May 2014 May 19, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Facebook ready to take on Snapchat Facebook is going head to head with rival Snapchat in the video-chat app market as the social networking group scrambles to win back users from the popular ephemeral messaging app. Facebook has been working for several months on the app, known internally as Slingshot, with a simple [...]
Beijing releases nine point plan to increase China’s ailing growth May 19, 2014 THE CHINESE government unveiled a package of policies designed to jump start the country’s slowing growth this weekend, with the liberalisation of finance among the top priorities. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced nine priorities to reorganise the changing economy. The Commission is pushing for further reforms to China’s state-owned enterprises, increasingly allowing [...]
Fears China’s housing bubble could pop as sales slow down May 15, 2014 DIVING property sales in Chinese cities could spell the end of the bull run in the market and knock the Asian country’s economy hard, ING Investment Management warned yesterday. Sales volumes in Beijing and Shanghai fell by 18 per cent and 17 per cent respectively in the first three weeks of April, prompting fears over the [...]
Bottom Line: Culture of bribery makes for risky business May 14, 2014 EVERYONE rightly wants a share of China’s growth, but are companies ready for the challenges of a region where corruption is part of the landscape? China’s problem is notorious. President Xi Jingping is publicly leading an anti-corruption crusade and last year, Chinese courts convicted 29,000 people for embezzlement, bribery or dereliction of duty. China scored [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 14 May 2014 May 13, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Danone in talks over medical sale Danone is in talks with Nestle and other potential buyers over the disposal of most of its medical nutrition division, as it eyes an expansion of its baby food business. The French group, which is being advised by JP Morgan, stands to raise up to €5bn (£4.07bn) [...]
Asian markets rise after strong finish on Wall Street May 13, 2014 Asian markets are on the rise as investors welcomed a weaker yen and a strong performance on Wall Street, with US equity indexes climbing to record highs. Japanese car maker Nissan enjoyed strong gains after full-year profits jumped 10 per cent beating analysts' estimates and forecast increasing dividends. Mitsubishi Chemical also rose sharply on reports [...]