Apple hit by Chinese iPhone sales worries December 6, 2012 APPLE’S market capitalisation fell below $500bn yesterday following news that the iPhone maker had fallen behind competitors in the crucial Chinese market. Although the stock recovered to finish slightly up yesterday, Apple has still lost more than eight per cent of its value this week, and is far below September’s $659bn value. Researchers IDC said [...]
Every little helps as Tesco boosts FTSE December 5, 2012 Tesco proved that every little helps by assisting the FTSE to a healthy rise in early trading. The supermarket group admitted last night that it is considering giving up on its struggling US venture, exciting investors who have grown exasperated with the company’s inability to transfer its success to the other side of the Atlantic. [...]
US watchdog charges audit China affiliates December 3, 2012 THE US markets watchdog yesterday hit the Chinese arms of five accounting firms with charges, after the affiliates failed to hand over audit documents the US body wants. PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte – the so-called big four – as well as BDO, have been charged with securities violations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), [...]
Nestle turns to China in bid for herbal remedy November 28, 2012 THE HEALTH unit of Nestle yesterday launched a tie-up with a company that specialises in traditional Chinese medicine in a bid to develop novel medicines derived from plants. Nestle Health Science is expected to plough at least £100m into the joint venture with London-listed Chi-Med, which creates a new company called Nutrition Science Partners (NSP). [...]
General Motors pushes further East with $1bn factory expansion November 28, 2012 GENERAL MOTORS and its Chinese joint-venture partners yesterday announced plans to build a $1bn (£620m) auto assembly plant in the city of Chongqing in a bid to remain the leader in the world’s largest auto market. GM, SAIC Motor and Wuling Motors said they will begin construction of the plant early next year, pending government [...]
Canada says it is still examining options on potential CNOOC bid November 28, 2012 THE Canadian government is still mulling its options as deadlines near on two proposed foreign takeovers of domestic energy companies, but an official offered no clues on when or how Ottawa would announce the hotly debated decisions. Andrew MacDougall, spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, did not comment on a report that the federal government [...]
E-currencies reach a major milestone November 28, 2012 FOR SOME, Bitcoin is an unregulated rogue currency for pornographers and drug dealers. For others, it is a victory for economic freedom, and a way of protecting business transactions from what they see as the inherent volatility of the banking system. But despite its contentiousness, the controversial e-currency is in rude health. Yesterday it reached [...]
The overheated Aussie needs to be cooled quick November 27, 2012 THE Australian dollar (Aussie) has been riding a tsunami wave over the last few years. Since lows at the end of 2008, the currency has rocketed by nearly 75 per cent against the US dollar. But as Asian economies realign, its rise looks set to end, bringing downward pressure on the currency. COMMODITIES SUPER CYCLE [...]
Technology and human ingenuity will rescue the economy November 22, 2012 IF you think we have it bad in today’s stagnant, mismanaged, low-growth Western economies, think of our ancestors. Their fate was truly hopeless. Global GDP per person grew by 0.04 per cent a year between the years 1000 and 1820, a note from Capital Economics reminds us – in other words, incomes and quality of [...]
Strong commodities and SAB Miller drive FTSE to a three-week high November 22, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index reached a three-week high yesterday after gaining for a fourth straight session, driven by strength in commodity stocks after a return to growth in China’s manufacturing sector. The FTSE 100 index closed up 39 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 5,791.03, extending its gains for the week so far to almost [...]