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 [...]
New York Report: Alibaba filing knocks Yahoo May 7, 2014 US STOCKS climbed mainly higher yesterday as Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen signaled continued support for the economy and Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a delay in an eastern Ukraine succession vote. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 117.52 points to close at 16,518.54 after Yellen said the US economy was still in need [...]
How Europe can cope without the Ukraine gas pipeline this winter May 7, 2014 Amid growing fears that Ukraine is heading towards a civil war, concerns about the security of gas supplies have risen too. Russia supplies around 25 per cent of Europe’s gas, with around 40 per cent of this coming through Ukrainian pipelines. With Russia hiking the prices Ukraine pays for gas – and of course the [...]
What you need to know before the open May 7, 2014 With the situation in Ukraine deteriorating, global markets are finding it difficult to push higher. The improvement in economic data from Europe yesterday was paired with the OECD slashing its forecast for the Russian economy. And that’s been followed this morning with some less-than-impressive services data for China, which makes it look less likely the [...]
Asian markets slide as Ukraine crisis escalates May 7, 2014 Asian markets have fallen to their lowest point in four weeks, as tensions remain high in Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russian separatists. On Monday, Kiev said four Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and an army helicopter had been shot down close to the city of Sloviansk. The following day 30 pro-Russian separatists were reported [...]