BEST OF THE BROKERS June 17, 2010 BHP BILLITON Citigroup maintains a “buy” recommendation on BHP Billiton saying the group’s share price has been overly impacted by issues such as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Chinese slow down and OECD debt issues. According to Citi, the market has already discounted $55bn in value destruction for BHP, which it believes is overdone. [...]
Hong Kong flat sale fails June 16, 2010 THE world’s most expensive apartment is to remain empty for now, as developer Henderson Land revealed its £38.3m sale had fallen through. The duplex in the 39 Conduit Road luxury development in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels district was snapped up last October for the record sum. Its sale, and 19 other deals for plush apartments in [...]
Gain exposure to the yuan and the rupee June 16, 2010 THE high-profile battle between Washington and Beijing over China’s stubborn policy of pegging its currency to the US dollar has piqued retail traders’ interest in Asian currencies, and the Chinese yuan in particular. While investors have been able to trade currencies such as the yuan and the Indian rupee through offshore non-deliverable forward (NDF) contracts, [...]
Fund managers pessimistic about growth June 15, 2010 FUND managers are highly pessimistic about the outlook for global economic growth and corporate profits. But sharp falls in world stock markets mean that global equities are now perceived to be at their most undervalued since March 2009, according to the June Bank of America-Merrill Lynch fund manager survey, published yesterday. Only a net 24 [...]
Commodities should take off later this year June 14, 2010 MARKETS tend to react quickly to bad news. Last month, after fears that the Greek debt crisis could spread across Europe and dent the outlook for global growth, the markets traded lower as investors sold risky assets. Commodities – sensitive to the global growth outlook – were hit hard. For example, the oil price fell [...]
China takes Club Med stake June 13, 2010 CHINA’S largest non-state holding, Fosun, has acquired 7.1 per cent of holiday resort group Club Med, the first time a quoted Chinese group takes a direct holding in a high-profile listed French company. Club Med hopes to make China its second-biggest market in the next five years while Fosun is keen to invest in Club [...]
TORIES: WE KNOW BP’S VALUE TO UK June 10, 2010 DAVID CAMERON, who is visiting troops in Afghanistan, asked chancellor George Osborne to phone BP chief executive Tony Hayward yesterday, amid concerns the government isn’t doing enough to counter Barack Obama’s increasingly vitriolic attacks on the embattled UK oil major. “I spoke on the phone to Tony Hayward today at the Prime Minister’s request. We [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 9, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BACKLASH OVER INDIAN FLOAT RULES India is facing a growing private sector backlash against a rule change that will lead to a flood of more than $50bn of new shares being listed over three years. There are concerns that the move could damage the country’s stock market and hamper economic growth. The Finance [...]
JPMORGAN IN CHINESE JOINT VENTURE June 9, 2010 JPMORGAN Chase, lead by chief executive Jamie Dimon, unveiled a joint venture with Chinese state-owned First Capital Securities yesterday, which is the latest move by global investment banks to exploit China’s booming capital markets. The venture will underwrite initial public offerings in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Agbank gears up for world’s largest IPO June 9, 2010 THE Agricultural Bank of China (Agbank) has been given the go-ahead by Chinese regulators for what could be the world’s largest share flotation. Agbank is planning to sell a stake of 14 per cent in a dual listing that will see its shares join both the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. The listing is [...]