Chinese firm in exclusive talks to acquire Tower 42 July 4, 2010 THE SALE of London’s first skyscraper came a step closer to completion yesterday after it emerged that Chinese Estates Group had entered exclusive discussions to buy Tower 42. The group, chaired by Hong Kong-based billionaire Joseph Lau, is said to have won a three-month auction with a bid near the asking price of £300m. Moorfield [...]
European shares slide after weak China data July 1, 2010 European shares tumbled in early trade – retreating for the seventh time in eight sessions, after tepid Chinese macro data raised concerns about the global recovery. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 1.2 percent at 981.94 points, while Euro STOXX 50, the euro zone’s blue chip index, fell 1.5 percent at [...]
Morgan Stan is top in global IPO rankings June 30, 2010 MORGAN Stanley has topped the underwriting league for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first half of the year. A few large deals helped propel the Wall Street bank to first place, up from its number three spot at this time last year. It underwrote 36 deals with estimated proceeds of $5.9bn (£3.9bn) in the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 29, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES M&A ACTIVITY LACKLUSTRE DESPITE STRENGTH IN EMERGING MARKETS Europe’s sovereign debt crisis and turbulent financing markets rattled the confidence of corporate dealmakers across the globe in the first half of the year to damp already lacklustre mergers and acquisition activity. The volume of deals worldwide rose 2.9 per cent to $828.9bn during the [...]
Australian mining tax June 29, 2010 YESTERDAY should have been a good day for the miners – it almost was. Having unceremoniously ousted Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the government has lost the upper hand in the battle over a supertax on miners’ profits. Julia Gillard, Rudd’s nemesis and successor, is now trying to enforce a softer version of the levy, although even this [...]
FTSE drags with not a single riser June 29, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index hit a near 10-month closing low yesterday, led down by mining stocks and banks, as risk appetite was hurt by renewed concerns over the strength of global recovery and Europe’s debt problems. The FTSE 100 closed down 157.46 points, or 3.1 per cent, at 4,914.22, its lowest close since 4 ?September [...]
Risk aversion will undermine euro June 29, 2010 DEMAND for risky assets has been undermined this week by concerns about both the strength of the US recovery and that Chinese growth may not be as rapid as had previously been thought. The euro has also started to wobble again, destabilised by a resurgence in fears about Europe’s banking sector. These worries about the [...]
DEBT WORRIES RAISE MARKET INSTABILITY June 29, 2010 GEORGE TCHETVERTAKOV HEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI GOVERNMENT bond yields in developed countries have been steadily falling over the course of 2010 alongside a broad retrenching of risk preferences. Fiscal austerity measures are being implemented across Europe following the emergence of plausible default risk. The cuts planned in most EU countries are being supplemented by [...]
Executives see euro weakening as public debt woes rumble on June 28, 2010 TWO thirds of business leaders and finance directors expect the euro to slide in the coming year as concerns over sovereign debt refuse to dissipate, according to a survey. More than 66 per cent of company executives interviewed by the Economist Intelligence Unit for investment bank RBC Capital Markets thought the single currency would continue [...]
City’s competitive edge blunted by bank levy June 27, 2010 THERE can be no doubt that Asia holds the key to the future growth of the global financial services industry, providing a whole host of new opportunities for the international business community, including many UK firms. And it is in all of our interests to help these rapidly emerging markets succeed and grow. That is [...]