Engineering firm Weir tops list of most shorted stocks July 30, 2012 ENGINEERING firm Weir Group remains by far the most shorted stock in the FTSE 100 according to data released today, suggesting investors continue to feel unease over the firm’s exposure to the US gas fracking industry. Figures from Markit, the financial information provider, show Weir’s stock is three times more shorted than outsourcing firm Serco, [...]
FTSE tumbles below 5,500 mark as Spain edges closer to a full bailout July 24, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed back below 5,500 for the first time this month yesterday, with financials among the worst off on Eurozone debt exposure fears as Spain looked to be nearing a full sovereign bailout. Spain paid the second highest yield on short-term debt since the birth of the euro at an auction yesterday, [...]
Qataris up stake in Xstrata after asking Glencore for better deal July 23, 2012 QATAR Holding, the second-largest shareholder in takeover target Xstrata, has added to its stake in the miner, in its first purchase since it made an unexpected demand for better terms from suitor Glencore last month. Qatar spent just under £5m to buy an extra 590,390 shares on Friday at £8.47 each, according to a regulatory [...]
Glencore cleared for Viterra deal July 16, 2012 Glencore has won a Canadian regulator’s approval for its roughly C$6.1bn (£3.8bn) takeover of grain handler Viterra, bringing the deal a step closer to completion. Glencore in March offered to pay C$16.25 per share for Viterra, which owns the largest share of Western Canada’s grain storage and farm supply outlets.
Big companies shy away from London floats July 12, 2012 LONDON’S Alternative Investment Market (Aim) was the venue for the vast majority of UK initial public offerings in the last three months while the main market remained in the doldrums, according to figures from Ernst & Young out yesterday. Aim hosted 11 listings in the second quarter, compared to just one IPO on the London [...]
Xstrata delays vote on merger with Glencore July 11, 2012 THE GO-AHEAD for the $53bn (£34bn) mega-merger between mining giant Xstrata and commodities trader Glencore has been delayed until at least September, it was announced yesterday. Investors had originally been scheduled to vote on the deal today but Xstrata changed the schedule last week in an attempt to smooth relations with shareholders who are fighting [...]
Kicking the soft drink bottletop down the road proves costly July 11, 2012 UPON nothing has so great and diligent ingenuity been brought to bear in all ages and in all countries, except the most uncivilised, as upon the invention of substitutes for water.” The great American cynic Ambrose Bierce wasn’t writing about Britvic’s Fruit Shoot brand, but he might as well have been. Since 2000, the fruit [...]
RLM Finsbury is top PR firm for European M&A activity in 2012 July 11, 2012 COMMUNICATIONS firm RLM Finsbury has topped the league table of PR advisers by deal value, according to research released yesterday. Data provider Mergermarket says the company worked on European M&A deals worth $95.6bn (£61.4bn) in the first half of 2012, more than any other PR agency. In total the firm, which is part of Sir [...]
Uncertainty over global economy and corporates sees FTSE end flat July 11, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index ended flat in low volume yesterday, with investors uncertain about the future path for equities due to concerns over global growth and corporate earnings. The FTSE 100 was up 0.41 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 5,664.48, having swung in a 50 point arc during the session, on volume of less [...]
Xstrata sets 7 September for Glencore merger vote July 11, 2012 Miner Xstrata said 7 September was the new date for a shareholder vote on its planned $26bn takeover by Glencore, after changes to retention deals for executives forced it to push back a meeting initially planned for this week. The delay will give commodities trader Glencore, Xstrata’s largest shareholder, weeks more to hammer out a [...]