Xinmao abandons Draka bid January 6, 2011 CHINA’s Xinmao Group dropped its €1bn (£645m) bid for Dutch cablemaker Draka yesterday, leaving Italy’s Prysmian free to seal a lower-priced deal and form an industry leader. Xinmao’s attempt to enter the fibre optic cable market by buying an overseas company had been seen as a test of the ability of Chinese companies to complete [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 5, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HEDGE FUNDS BET ON REVIVAL OF FORTUNES After one of their most disappointing years, hedge fund managers are hoping for a better 2011 with less macro economic volatility and more corporate events to bet on, such as takeovers. As of the end of November, the average hedge fund had returned just over 7 [...]
Yuan free to rise five per cent against dollar in 2011 January 5, 2011 IN a bid to tackle its problematic inflation, China will let the yuan rise by around five per cent against the dollar this year, it was revealed yesterday. However, any appreciation will do little to narrow China’s trade surplus with the US, a Chinese government official warned. The trade imbalance is a constant source of [...]
Chinese visit Spain to confirm support January 4, 2011 CHINESE vice premier Li Keqiang arrived in Madrid yesterday for a three-day visit. He met finance minister Elena Salgado and industry minister Miguel Sebastian yesterday, and today will meet King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The visit follows the publication of an editorial by Li on Monday in Spain’s El País [...]
Sterling is stuck in the middle of a tug of war January 4, 2011 WITH higher rail fares, energy bills and from yesterday, VAT, 2011 is so far not looking like a very happy New Year for many British consumers. But despite the higher costs, they can at least take solace from the fact that the economy does seem to be recovering fairly remarkably. And the pound seems to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINA TRAVEL GROUP PULLS OUT OF AIM Et-China.com International Holdings, the Chinese travel specialist, will today become the first company to quit Aim this year. Shares in the company, which raised £4.4m at 127p a share when it joined Aim in August 2007, were suspended at 103 1/2p in July because of its [...]
Spread betting vs. contracts for difference January 3, 2011 THE new year is underfoot, and with European sovereign debt still looking problematic, Chinese inflation sky high and the Federal Reserve still emptying a bathtub of money onto the world, it is looking to be at least as interesting a year as 2010. For ordinary investors, volatility is not very much fun. Most people are [...]
Top stock picks for 2011 January 3, 2011 TRADING individual equities is always a risky business for contracts for difference (CFD) traders. An ill-considered, poorly executed trade will leave your fingers severely burnt and your account balance in the red. But get it right and you’re on track to rake in the profits. Even though equity strategists are cautiously optimistic about the prospects [...]
STOCKS MUST NOT RELY ON QE STIMULUS January 3, 2011 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT AS WE head into the new year, there are a number of significant financial and economic issues still unresolved. The most immediate problem is the European debt crisis. The potential insolvency of many banks and the high levels of public debt of many member states will continue to weigh on the [...]
What the other papers say this morning December 22, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES PATTEN TOPS LIST TO CHAIR BBC TRUST Six people are on the shortlist to be the next chairman of the BBC Trust, according to two insiders who have seen the document. Lord Patten, former Conservative party chairman and the last governor of Hong Kong, is clear favourite. But Sir Howard Davies, director of [...]