Lenovo buys PC firm in Germany June 1, 2011 CHINESE computer maker Lenovo has agreed to buy German electronics retailer Medion for around $900m (£551.5m), boosting its market share in Europe. The acquisition, Lenovo’s biggest since its purchase of IBM’s PC business six years ago, comes four months after Lenovo signed a joint venture deal with NEC Corp to sell laptops in Japan. The [...]
Demographic trends set to lead to boom in healthcare June 1, 2011 INVESTORS have been profiting from a healthcare revolution sweeping the globe, which still has a long way to run. Stephen Barber of Selftrade notes two global demographic changes set to increase demand for healthcare: “The ageing population and the growth of the middle classes in the emerging world, led by China and India.” Across the [...]
Coca-Cola considers Shanghai listing June 1, 2011 Coca-Cola Co, the world’s largest soft-drink company, said it may explore a possible listing in Shanghai, joining other global firms in testing the waters for a China listing, along with its increasing presence there. Coke has said it will commit $2bn (£1bn) in investment into China and last October opened three new plants in Inner [...]
RBS taps into China’s investment market May 30, 2011 The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and its local Chinese partner launched their joint venture Huaying Securities yesterday, hoping to tap a piece of the booming investment banking business in the country. “From today, Huaying is licensed to underwrite and sponsor stocks and bonds issued in mainland China, tapping China’s huge and growing investment banking [...]
Burberry sees profits surge as Asia booms May 26, 2011 BURBERRY is stepping up spending on new stores to cash in on a boom in demand for luxury goods in Asia as it met forecasts with a 39 per cent jump in full-year profit. Profit for the 12 months to the end of March were £296m with revenues up 27 per cent to £1.5bn. The [...]
Burberry fast tracks expansion plan as profit soars May 26, 2011 Burberry is stepping up spending on new stores and upgrading existing ones to cash in on a boom in spending on luxury goods, it said as it met forecasts with a 39 per cent leap in annual profit. The British maker of raincoats and handbags, best known for its camel, red and black check pattern, [...]
Britain’s long journey back to sanity May 24, 2011 HERE is a little test for you, dear reader. How much do you think public spending has been cut over the past year? Five per cent? 10 per cent? Maybe 20 per cent? I’m afraid you will be disappointed. Total spending is up by well over four per cent in cash terms and by more [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 24, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES POLL SHOWS MAJORITY OF INVESTORS USE VOTES Almost eight in 10 UK institutional investors exercise their voting rights in all the companies in which they own shares, according to a survey by the Investment Management Association. The finding, in a report setting out the extent of shareholder involvement in the early days of [...]
THE TIPSTER May 24, 2011 A SURPRISE shortfall in tax receipts and news that the Chinese downgraded UK sovereign debt took the shine off sterling in yesterday’s trade, but there’s little reason to be cheering the euro now, either. Eurozone debt concerns remain high and even the release of some marginally better than expected economic readings from Germany isn’t going [...]
Blast at Apple’s China supply factory halts production May 24, 2011 Production of Apple technology products at a Chinese factory have been suspended after an explosion last Friday left three workers dead and 15 injured. The blast was in the polishing department of Foxconn Technology’s Chengdu plant in southwest China, where Apple’s iPad 2 tablets are finished, according to local media reports. Foxconn has not confirmed [...]