Carmaker Geely seeks $1bn loans to buy Volvo December 1, 2009 Geely, the Chinese carmaker picked as the preferred bidder for Ford Motor’s Volvo unit, is seeking at least $1bn (£602m) in loans from Chinese banks to finance its $1.8bn bid, sources said yesterday. Geely, which means “lucky” in Chinese, is hungry for modern and innovative technologies from the Swedish brand to upgrade its car line [...]
Your attitude to risk key to 2010 trading December 1, 2009 IT WAS no surprise that the Dubai debt scare saw investors running back to safe-havens such as the US dollar, Japanese yen and the Swiss franc. Risk appetite is one of the biggest drivers of the foreign exchange markets. The story of recent months in forex markets has been one of increasing investor confidence, which [...]
Norton Rose is ready to expand in Asia on the back of its latest deal November 29, 2009 There is light at the end of the economic night – of that Peter Martyr is fairly certain. But the CEO of NortonRose, the City law firm, wants to make sure we are not facing a false dawn before he gets too excited. As he puts it: “The financial crisis has moved so quickly that [...]
Star manager Bolton heads to Asia to launch Fidelity fund November 26, 2009 FIDELITY fund guru Anthony Bolton is returning to money management next year with the launch of a new portfolio investing in China. Bolton, one of Britain’s best-known fund managers, was nicknamed the “silent assassin” for taking boardroom scalps during his outstanding 28-year run at the head of Fidelity International’s Special Situations fund. He relinquished leadership [...]
F&C DITCHES THE DORCHESTER FOR A LEANER SHOWING AT PING PONG November 25, 2009 THINGS may be looking up in terms of the economy, but the corporate Christmas goose is looking just as lean as it was in the depths of the financial crisis last year – and a little bird tells me that asset management firm F&C Investments is among the companies trimming its budget. Usually, F&C staffers [...]
FOREX FLASH November 24, 2009 JPMorgan sees further falls for buck JPMorgan yesterday cut its 2010 forecast for the US dollar and predicted that the greenback will fall to as low as $1.62 per euro in the second quarter of next year. The continuing decline in the dollar will be driven by signs that the Federal Reserve will keep its [...]
China’s metals market retreat tempts bears November 23, 2009 WITH evidence of real recovery from the global economic meltdown still patchy at best, the mining sector – traditionally a “late cyclical” play – should by rights still be in its end-2008 trough. Yet 2009 has seen an amazing resurgence in the sector, borne up on an industrial commodity price recovery defying belief. Bellwether base [...]
BBVA ups stake in China November 22, 2009 SPANISH bank BBVA is looking to plough a further €1.1bn (£991,000) into China’s Citic Bank, increasing its reputation for Chinese invesment. The bank, which would lift its stake from 10 to 15 per cent, is bucking the trend of Western banks such as UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland, who have been pulling out of [...]
Las Vegas Sands IPO disappoints in China November 22, 2009 CASINO group Las Vegas Sands has seen lower than expected interest in the stock market float of its Macau business. Sands China, an offshoot of Las Vegas Sands, raised $2.5bn (£1.51bn) through its initial public offering in Hong Kong, Chinese sources said. That was at the bottom of the range hoped for, but will ensure [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 19, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES VODAFONE?VEXED BY VERIZON STANCEThe chief executive of Vodafone yesterday said that the question of dividend payments from Verizon Wireless, its US joint venture, was one of the most pressing items on the company’s agenda. Speaking at a MorganStanley investor conference in Barcelona, Vittorio Colao said: “We need to solve the US situation.” EUROPEAN [...]