Chinese may invest in euro bailout funds February 2, 2012 MARKETS rose yesterday as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao suggested the country will invest in the Eurozone bailout fund – but fell later when Eurogroup leader Jean Claude Juncker cast doubt on the success of Greek debt talks. Wen (pictured) said the country supports efforts to stabilise the currency, and could invest some of its huge [...]
China and US help Johnson Matthey sales February 1, 2012 JOHNSON Matthey, the world’s largest supplier of catalytic converters for vehicles, expects second-half profits to be “slightly ahead” of the first, after a third quarter boosted by Chinese sales and North American truck sales. The British speciality chemicals company said yesterday underlying profit before tax rose 34 per cent to £104m in the quarter, in [...]
Bell sounds out Chime’s public relations division January 31, 2012 LORD Bell is considering a management buyout of parts of Chime, the marketing group which he chairs. Margaret Thatcher’s former media guru, as well as Chime deputy chair Piers Pottinger and other executives, plan to buy some of Chime’s public relations businesses, the firm said. Chime, which provides services in public relations, advertising and sports [...]
Xstrata in coal output surge January 31, 2012 MINER Xstrata has posted record output from its Australian thermal coal operations for 2011, boosting total coal production seven per cent, as the newly commissioned Mangoola mine helped offset a flood-hit start to the year and strikes in South Africa. Copper, however, dipped, in line with expectations and Xstrata’s peers. Copper was hit by lower [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 30, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES HK IPO FOR SUNSHINE OILSANDS Sunshine Oilsands, a Canadian tar sands company backed by Chinese state-owned enterprises, has shunned Toronto and will next month launch an initial public offering in Hong Kong that could raise as much as $600m. The company plans to sell a 25 per cent stake in the offering, according [...]
How to answer the $100bn question January 30, 2012 IT’S the $80bn question, or maybe even the $100bn question: just how much is Facebook worth? To find the answer, you would normally try to value the company using traditional multiples – price to sales, price to earnings and so on – and you would quickly find out that the valuations being discussed look ridiculously [...]
THE TIPSTER OMAHA’S ORACLE FEASTS AT THE BARGAIN BUFFET January 30, 2012 THE shares of Tesco plunged in mid-January after the retail giant announced an unexpected fall in Christmas sales. The sell-off took the price down through support at 350p and also broke the long-term up-trend. News that Warren Buffett increased his holding to 5 per cent from 3.2 per cent helped to lift the shares, but [...]
A continent still growing nowhere fast January 29, 2012 FOR Europeans at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, the 2012 theme – “the great transformation” – had a thoroughly gloomy ring to it. The phrase harks back to Karl Polanyi’s account of the transformational and traumatic rise of the market economy in England. But as Europe undergoes another epic transformation, it is [...]
A great growth market for London January 26, 2012 IT’S Friday, so for once let me recount a positive, upbeat success story. Increasingly, we are paying our way in the world by attracting visitors from overseas, who spend lots and sustain a growing number of jobs. London is third in the Euromonitor overseas visitor rankings, behind Hong Kong and Singapore. We are easily the [...]
Goldman’s London HQ to be sold January 25, 2012 Chinese real estate investor Gaw Capital Partners is in talks to buy Goldman Sachs’ London HQ for about £300m in the latest deal underlining the safe haven appeal of the city’s property market, a source said. Gaw, through its Downtown Properties vehicle, is in the final stages of talks to do the deal for the [...]