BG Group’s new project could be revolutionary November 1, 2010 THE coverage of third quarter oil company earnings published today will mask a more interesting story for the energy sector. Natural gas giant BG Group announced on Saturday that it had been given the go ahead to become the first company to liquefy gas from coal deposits. The new venture will have the capacity to [...]
US is where it all happens this week October 31, 2010 IT used to be the case that the most important market-moving news for the FTSE 100, sterling and the UK fixed income markets often came from the US. While that remains largely true – London traders become fixated with Wall Street the moment it opens – Chinese statistics have now become almost as important for [...]
Chinese demand will keep the German engine roaring October 31, 2010 GERMANY certainly is the engine of Europe at the moment; it has powered its way out of the recession. Exports are booming, unemployment is expected to fall to levels last seen in the early 1990s and its current account is firmly in surplus. The blue-chip Dax index is the model of this good health, outperforming [...]
AIA float sees 17 per cent share surge October 29, 2010 AIA Group surged 17 per cent in its Hong Kong debut as investors, chasing exposure to Asia’s fast-growing life insurance business, piled into the record offering in the world’s hottest IPO market. The stronger-than-expected listing is a relief for bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc after a two-year effort to sell its Asian unit, including [...]
AIA float sees investors pile in October 29, 2010 AIA Group surged 17 per cent in its Hong Kong debut as investors, chasing exposure to Asia’s fast-growing life insurance business, piled into the record offering in the world’s hottest IPO market. The stronger-than-expected listing is a relief for bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc after a two-year effort to sell its Asian unit, including [...]
DEFLATING A MARKET FULL OF HOT AIR October 28, 2010 MD & FOUNDER OF FINE WINE MERCHANT BORDEAUX INDEX TUCKED away for half term with the family, I was tenderly unprepared for the storm in a teacup that clattered over the internet yesterday. In shock news, it seems that Chateau Lafite-Rothschild has decided to release the nascent 2008 vintage with a very small Chinese symbol [...]
ICBC earnings grow as bank buys insurer October 28, 2010 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s most valuable lender, joined rivals in posting robust earnings on strong loans growth, giving a boost to its planned multi-billion dollar fundraising. The Beijing-based lender also said it will pay $180m (£112.8m) to buy control of French insurer AXA’s Chinese joint venture, expanding into the country’s [...]
Kazakhmys boosted by China October 28, 2010 Kazakh miner Kazakhmys yesterday posted a 9.3-per cent fall in third-quarter copper production, in line with analysts’ expectations, and stuck to its full-year target as demand remained buoyant. “Kazakhmys has reported a steady quarter with copper production falling modestly… but tracking well in line to hit guidance,” JP Morgan analyst Amos Fletcher said in a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 26, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINA AND US CLOSER ON TRADE TARGETS China and the US have the basis for an agreement at the summit of the Group of 20 leading nations next month on setting targets to cut trade imbalances, according to an adviser to the Chinese central bank. Li Daokui, a member of the central bank’s [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS October 26, 2010 COMMERZBANK LAUNCHES CHINA FUND Commerzbank has unveiled a new Chinese equity fund, designed explicitly to reduce volatility without minimising returns. Commerzbank has partnered with China Asset Management Co to launch the Volatility Target fund, which will benefit from active management by experts on the ground in China. Structured as a Ucits Sicav, the fund has [...]