Carlsberg share price soars as sales beat expectations on strong Asia growth February 10, 2016 Carlsberg shares are soaring after the Danish brewer smashed analysts’ expectations on strong growth in Asia. The figures Carlsberg posted sales of 14.7bn Danish kroner (DKK) (£1.53bn) for the quarter ending 31 December 2015, ahead of the forecast DKK14.2bn. This marks a 2.8 per cent growth from the same period last year, when sales landed at [...]
Déjà vu… US crude is under $30 again as industry leaders predict the supply glut will continue February 8, 2016 The US oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), has once again dipped under the $30 per barrel mark, having hovered over the psychological barrier for a week. Brent crude was trading around $33.29 when WTI fell under $30. The latest drop comes as world’s largest independent oil-trading house warns the oil prices could stay low for as long as [...]
Olive oil prices jumped almost 20 per cent in 2015 after poor European harvest February 8, 2016 Bad news, olive oil fans: your favourite salad dressing got more expensive last year. Bad weather and disease hurt Europe’s olive harvest in 2015, while the continent’s top producers suffered fierce competition from Tunisia, which used a bumper harvest to leap into the world’s top exporter position. All that means the price of olive oil [...]
UK steel crisis: Companies to ramp up pressure on British government to take action over China and Russia driving commodity prices down February 8, 2016 Steel companies will this week ramp up pressure on the government to come to the industry's defence ahead of an emergency European conference on 15 February. The conference, called at the behest of the UK and involving executives from Tata Steel and Celsa, will call on the European Commission to take action against cheap steel flooding [...]
Addison Lee is taking the fight against Uber to the Big Apple February 7, 2016 To an outsider Addison Lee might look like a company that’s losing momentum. Disruptive rival Uber has burst on to the scene, and defied recent attempts (in the UK, at least) to use the strong arm of regulators to clip its wings. But Addison Lee insists that it had a great Christmas, and the minicab giant [...]
UK steel crisis: Sajid Javid joins EU governments to warn steel industry risks collapse unless Europe steps up cheap import fight against Russia and China February 6, 2016 The UK and six other European steel producers have urged the EU to fight back against cheap steel imports, to stop the European industry “collapsing”. Business secretary Sajid Javid joined ministers from Germany, Italy, Poland, Belgium, France and Luxembourg in demanding the EU “ensure a global level playing field” for the industry. “The European Union [...]
Market volatility will continue as emerging markets pay off debt, warns Bank for International Settlements February 5, 2016 The volatility that has rocked financial markets since the start of the year is likely to continue, the ‘bank for central banks’ has warned. The strength of the dollar is leading many emerging market economies to start paying off their dollar debts – deleveraging – in response to the strengthening of the dollar. A strong [...]
How Andorra attracted wealthy property investors by relaxing residency laws February 5, 2016 The tiny Pyrenean principality of Andorra only fully opened its doors to international investment in 2012, in order to diversify its economy. It has also now relaxed residency laws in a move towards attracting wealthier citizens. As a result, the property market, which until last year was stagnating, has begun to see a significant rise [...]
Swiss commodity trader Trafigura’s chief released on bail amid fraud probe February 4, 2016 The head of one of the world's largest oil and metals traders, Trafigura, was released on bail after eight months in prison this week, as a probe into alleged fraudulent trading activity continues. Li Bo, who heads the company's operations in Beijing, has not been charged in the matter which relates to losses of $32m (£22m) in a gasoline trade [...]
Brent and WTI crude: Oil prices soar as the US dollar dives February 3, 2016 Oil prices surged today, helped by the tumbling US dollar following comments by a US Federal Reserve official and weak economic data. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 8.31 per cent to $35.44 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, added 9.3 per cent to $32.66. "We're getting the rally in crude oil from the pounding [...]