Eerie calm on Wall Street as equities stall August 9, 2012 THE Standard & Poor’s 500 extended its rally to a fifth day yesterday, again eking out a tiny gain as lingering expectations for economic stimulus from central banks lent support to a market lacking new catalysts. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 10.45 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 13,165.19 at the close. But the [...]
Trader Glencore strikes Bellzone iron ore deal August 9, 2012 Glencore has struck a deal to buy at least half of the output from Guinea’s Forecariah iron ore mine as part of the commodities trader’s drive to grab a bigger share of the lucrative market for the steelmaking ingredient. The world’s largest diversified commodities trader said today it had reached a deal with Bellzone Mining [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Square ties-up deal with Starbucks Square, the mobile payments start-up created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, yesterday took a big step towards the mainstream when Starbucks announced it would use its smartphone technology to replace transaction systems in its US coffee shops. Under the deal, Square will process all Starbucks transactions done with [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | HOW DID RIO TINTO DO AGAINST ANALYSTS’ EXPECTATIONS? August 8, 2012 JONATHAN JACKSON KILLIK & CO The shares have been weak and volatile performers this year, driven by near-term risks surrounding the outlook for global growth and higher industry costs. However, we are positive on the stock, and believe it is a highly liquid way to gain exposure to long-term emerging market growth. CAILEY BARKER NUMIS [...]
Rio Tinto sticks to spending plans despite profit drop August 8, 2012 Global miner Rio Tinto posted a 34 per cent drop in first-half profit, at the better end of expectations, weighed down by weaker iron ore prices, but said it was sticking to its $16bn (£10.2bn) spending plans for the year. Rio, the world’s second-largest iron ore producer, said underlying earnings fell to $5.2bn, at the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 7, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Tea market strained as output falls The price of tea has jumped to a 2½-year high as poor crops in some of the world’s most important producers strain supplies. Dry conditions, poor rains and frosts have hit tea production in Kenya, the largest exporter of black tea. A bad monsoon has reduced production [...]
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR August 7, 2012 OUR final shortlist for the third annual City A.M. awards is a big one – the Business of the Year. For this category we have looked for strong share price performance aligned to important strategic developments. We have chosen four established companies, along with one rising star in Ophir Energy. Ophir has been one of [...]
Best Buy mulls founder’s offer to take it over August 6, 2012 AMERICAN electronics retailer Best Buy may be taken private after founder and former chairman Richard Schulze made an offer to the company’s board valuing it at up to $9bn (£5.8bn) yesterday. Schulze’s offer to buy the 80 per cent of Best Buy he does not already own sent shares in the retailer up 17 per [...]
Chinese Origo funds dip in value August 6, 2012 Chinese private equity investors Origo Partners, which is listed in London, reported a 4.8 per cent dip in its portfolio values yesterday, falling to $227.7m (£149.5m) over the quarter as waning commodity prices dented its mining investments. The firm, based in Beijing but listed on the Alternative Investment Market, saw a drop in net asset [...]
Next bucks the gloom and sets sights on China July 30, 2012 NEXT is to launch its website in Chinese this autumn as Britain’s second largest clothes retailer steps up its expansion overseas. The company will update the market on its online growth plans alongside its half-year results on Wednesday, with its catalogue and online Directory business again expected to have offset a fall in sales at [...]