Cirrus snaps up British rival Wolfson for £291m April 29, 2014 AUDIO semiconductor-maker Wolfson Microelectronics has agreed a £291m takeover by Texas rival Cirrus Logic. Announced yesterday, the cash deal will see Wolfson’s shareholders receive 235p per share, a 76 per cent premium to the share’s value prior to the deal. The valuation still marks a significant drop from Wolfson’s peak in 2006 when the Edinburgh-based [...]
Forecast says China on course to reach growth target for the year April 28, 2014 THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) hiked its expectation for Chinese growth in 2014 yesterday, indicating that the country will reach its target for a 7.5 per cent expansion. The forecast was increased by 0.3 percentage points from the previous estimate in October, despite poor indicators for the manufacturing sector during the first quarter of the [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Why the Chinese yuan has been plummeting this year April 28, 2014 A NEW and exciting currency pair has entered the stage and, with it, a strong rally. The newly introduced USD/CNH is the offshore equivalent of the Chinese yuan and, since the start of 2014, it has rallied by 2,300 pips. A rally in this case means a depreciation of the Chinese yuan. At the beginning [...]
British retailers lure overseas online browsers April 28, 2014 THE NUMBER of overseas shoppers browsing the web for British clothing and footwear retailers has surged in the past year, with department stores grabbing a greater share of the attention, new figures released today show. Retailers have been pushing ahead with international expansion plans to offset slowing growth and weak consumer spending at home, using [...]
Asian markets slide after US housing slowdown April 24, 2014 Asian markets are in retreat after the US posted worse than expected home sales and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe confirmed that a trade deal with the US had not yet been agreed. It was hoped that a successful free trade deal between the US and Japan would be precursor to the completion of the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 24 April 2014 April 23, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Deutsche Bank under pressure Deutsche Bank is facing pressure from investors to raise capital amid fears the bank is still not robust enough to cope with a tougher regulatory environment and a slump in global debt markets. Insiders at Germany’s largest lender are understood to accept as a real threat that the European [...]
Asian markets shrug off Chinese manufacturing data April 23, 2014 Asian markets are relatively flat after Chinese manufacturing data came in line with expectations but still showed the sector in contractionary territory. Markit's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rebounded, from 48 in March to 48.3 in April, exactly in line with Bloomberg's median forecast. The pick-up was primarily due to rebounds in the output and [...]
Boeing pens $4.6bn plane deal with Chinese airline Shandong April 22, 2014 BOEING has agreed to supply Chinese carrier Shandong Airlines with new planes. Shandong has bought 50 Boeing 737 planes, worth $4.6bn at list prices, as part of its plan to nearly double its overall fleet by 2020, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua. The airline is majority-owned by Air China, which also features the [...]
Forget Twitter, why Weibo is the social stock to watch April 22, 2014 Last week’s US float of Chinese social network Weibo – think a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook – saw investors rush into the stock buoying it 33 per cent in the first two days of trading. One of the reasons for this is Weibo looks like a great deal for those hoping to capitalise on [...]
Asian markets flat as Chinese shares disappoint April 22, 2014 Asian shares are broadly flat as weak Chinese shares offset a positive day on Wall Street.The Chinese Enterprises Index fell by one per cent to its lowest point in nearly four weeks. Fears over a slowdown in the Chinese economy were reinforced over the past week as Great Wall Motor and Air China reported poor [...]