New York Report: Dow and S&P hit new peaks and Nasdaq up May 12, 2014 THE DOW and S&P 500 ended at record highs last night while the Nasdaq rallied as shares of internet and biotech shares advanced. Biogen Idec jumped 4.8 per cent to $300.54 and TripAdvisor rose 5.8 per cent to $89.51. Twitter gained 5.9 per cent to $33.94 after news reports that brokerage SunTrust raised its rating [...]
Asian markets wary after east Ukraine vote May 12, 2014 Asian shares outside of Japan are on the rise as investors drew hope from the possibility of the Chinese government taking further action to boost the economy. Last week, President Xi Jinping said the world's second largest economy needed to readjust to a "new normal". Restrictions on foreign investment in listed Chinese companies have been [...]
Separatists in Ukraine cheer huge turnout May 11, 2014 SEPARATISTS in the east of Ukraine last night hailed a number of self-rule referendums in the region a success, despite accusations of fraud. Voters in the country went to the polls to determine whether eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk will remain in Ukraine or operate under self-rule. Votes were being counted overnight and a [...]
London is the super-rich capital of the world with 72 billionaires May 11, 2014 LONDON is now home to 72 billionaires, making it the world’s capital city for sterling billionaires and giving the UK the highest number of super-rich residents per head in the world. The number of British-based billionaires has exploded in the last decade, rising from 30 to more than 100. However, Alisher Usmanov has lost his [...]
Ukraine referendum fails to spook Asian markets May 9, 2014 Asian markets are on the rise despite escalating tensions in Ukraine after pro-Russian separatists rejected Vladimir Putin's call to postpone a referendum on independence. Set for Sunday, the referendum follows some of bloodiest fighting seen during the crisis, with 30 pro-Russian separatists and four Ukrainian soldiers reported to have been killed in the last week. [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 09 May 2014 May 8, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Apple in talks for $3.2bn Beats deal Apple will acquire Beats’ streaming music service, which launched this year, and its audio equipment business, which includes its brand of headphones and audio equipment. The Beats management team will report to Mr Cook, sources said. Apple and Beats did not comment. The deal is likely [...]
Chinese trade data and dovish Yellen boost Asian markets May 8, 2014 Asian markets have been boosted by a recovery in Chinese exports and imports as well as Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen's commitment that the Fed will continue to support the US economy. Chinese export growth rose from -6.6 per cent year-on-year in March to 0.9 per cent in April, outperforming Bloomberg's median estimate of minus [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 08 May 2014 May 7, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Former chancellors slam Help to Buy Three former chancellors of the exchequer have urged George Osborne to rethink his Help to Buy programme, with the OECD also calling on the government to scale back the mortgage support scheme. Lord Lawson, Lord Lamont and Alistair Darling – all predecessors of Osborne at the Treasury [...]
SocGen hit by Russian exposures May 7, 2014 GIANT French bank Societe Generale slashed its Russian goodwill assets by €525m (£430.7m) yesterday over political uncertainty around the Ukraine crisis. Profits fell 13.3 per cent as a result, with the bank reporting a net income of €315m for the quarter. However, investors were unflustered as the bank’s underlying profits came in almost exactly as forecast. [...]
Brewers report disappointing first quarters May 7, 2014 CARLSBERG and Anheuser-Busch InBev both reported disappointing results yesterday as Carlsberg cut its earnings forecast on the back of political tensions in eastern Europe while AB InBev reported a 24 per cent drop in net profit due to increased marketing spend on the World Cup. Carlsberg, the maker of Tuborg and Kronenbourg 1664, is the [...]