Glencore chairman withdraws from dwindling Saudi investor conference October 17, 2018 Glencore chairman Tony Hayward has become the latest business leader to pull out of next week's Saudi investor conference as the backlash over the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi intensifies. The mining and trading giant's chairman joins International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde and Societe Generale chief executive Frederic Oudea in withdrawing from [...]
City banker nabbed for M&A role at $320bn Qatari state fund October 2, 2018 Qatar’s largest sovereign wealth fund has grabbed a top City of London banker to run its deal-related activities worldwide, as it moves to expand a $320bn (£246.6bn) portfolio that includes the single-largest stake in supermarket Sainsbury’s, Sky News reported. Sky said Ken McLaren, currently a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), will [...]
Last Week in the City: Trade wars begin July 6, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (2 to 6 July 2018). The World Cup is “distracting” for participants in global markets, according to Citigroup. "We find that football is indeed distracting, subtly impacting market depth, traded volumes and execution cost,” the US [...]
Anglo American share price spikes on $7bn Vedanta deal reports July 4, 2018 Shares in FTSE 100-listed miner Anglo American have spiked today after reports linking it to a $7bn (£5.3bn) deal with Vedanta Resources. Indian website Livemint reported today that Vedanta was considering a plan to take control of Anglo's South African business by merging it with Vedanta via a share swap. Vedanta’s chair Anil Agarwal owns [...]
Glencore loses £4bn in market capitalisation following US Department of Justice money laundering probe July 3, 2018 Over £4bn has been wiped off Glencore's market capitalisation following the news it had received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking documents relating to money laundering compliance. The DOJ wants documents and records related to the commodity trading and mining company's business in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela [...]
FTSE closes lower amid investor fears over impending G7 summit in Canada June 8, 2018 The FTSE closed down today with investors in a cautious mood for most of the day ahead of a G7 meeting this weekend. It ended 0.3 per cent lower at 7,681.07 points. Markets fell as Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin should attend the summit in La Malbaie in Quebec, Canada. Russia was expelled from what [...]
Last Week in the City: Stiff competition in funerals? June 1, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (28 May to 1 June 2018). Shares in listed funeral director Dignity slumped after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will examine the pre-paid funeral sector, a move that could see tougher regulation. [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen boss Martin Gilbert takes Glencore leave of absence to concentrate on ‘protracted Sky takeover’ May 16, 2018 City bigwig Martin Gilbert is taking a leave of absence from the board of mining giant Glencore as he concentrates on another one of his heavy-hitting roles – as deputy chair of takeover target Sky. The co-chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen will be replaced as Glencore’s audit and remuneration committee chair by Patrice Merrin. [...]
The Russian rouble (RUB) is falling further as pressures mount over US sanctions and Syria April 11, 2018 The Russian rouble fell for a third day today as the fallout from new US sanctions continued to heap pressure on Russian companies and markets. After dropping around eight per cent since the start of the week, the rouble shed nearly a further three per cent this afternoon, with one dollar buying 65 roubles at [...]
Double t-rouble: Russian currency hammered as markets reel from souring relations with West over Skripal poisoning and Syria chemical attack April 11, 2018 The Russian rouble took another dive yesterday to hit its lowest point in over a year after a fresh round of US sanctions on individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin rattled markets. The rouble fell nearly four per cent against the US dollar, with one dollar buying 63.9 roubles at its peak, following on [...]