London Report: FTSE roars back as fears of a US default diminish October 10, 2013 THE UK’S top share index bounced off three-month lows yesterday as signs of progress on ending the fiscal stalemate in Washington buoyed sentiment, with banks in particular leading the index higher. Shares in Ladbrokes jumped 2.9 per cent boosted by bid speculation after software firm Playtech, was rumoured to be behind the purchase of a [...]
More interested parties mulling BlackBerry bids October 6, 2013 GOOGLE, Cisco and SAP have all been named on the growing list of companies interested in bidding for BlackBerry, the struggling Canadian mobile manufacturer. Such a bid would come as an alternative to the agreement reached with Fairfax Financial on 23 September to take the company private for $4.7bn, a bid which has faced some [...]
Eurozone unemployment still flat despite end to recession October 1, 2013 THE EUROZONE’S unemployment rate held at 12 per cent in August, with little change from the previous month revealed in figures yesterday. The currency union’s high unemployment levels are yet to decline, despite the end of an 18-month recession in the second quarter of this year. There are currently 19.178m people out of work and [...]
New York Report: Markets stay calm despite US shutdown October 1, 2013 US stocks kicked off a new month and a new quarter with gains yesterday as investors, for now, appeared confident that the first partial government shutdown in nearly two decades would be short lived. After declining seven out of the past eight sessions on concerns about a possible shutdown, Wall Street rebounded as investors viewed [...]
Gem discovers blue diamond September 30, 2013 GEM DIAMONDS yesterday said it has recovered a rare 12.46 carat blue diamond and an 83.8 carat white diamond from its Letmine in Lesotho, Africa. The London-listed firm said both diamonds are expected to fetch good prices at tenders held in Antwerp, Belgium. RBC Capital Markets has predicted that the miner could earn $6m (£3.7m) [...]
Lowest inflation since 2010 for euro economies September 30, 2013 BELOW target inflation is still being recorded in the Eurozone despite a nascent recovery, with the lowest consumer price index (CPI) growth in three and a half years revealed. Figures released yesterday showed CPI at only 1.1 per cent in the 12 months to September, indicating the smallest rise in prices since the first quarter [...]
EBay to acquire Braintree to bolster PayPal September 26, 2013 ONLINE auction giant Ebay yesterday revealed it has agreed to buy payments provider Braintree in an acquisition to boost its PayPal offering on smartphones and tablets. Braintree will be bought for $800m in cash by Ebay in a deal expected to close in late 2013. “Braintree is a perfect fit with PayPal. Together, we expect [...]
City Moves for 26 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 25, 2013 Macquarie The financial services group has recruited Jeremy Dibb as a senior analyst in its metals & mining equity research team for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Dibb was most recently at Canaccord Genuity, where he was a director in its metals and mining research team. Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets RBC’s corporate and [...]
National Express pens contract to run two German train routes September 25, 2013 NATIONAL Express is exporting the British rail experience to two train routes in North Rhine Westphalia, signing contracts yesterday in what the UK ambassador to Germany described as “a proud day for British business”. The company will run the regional services for 15 years from 2015 under the contract, taking over from incumbent state-owned operator [...]
Coalition talks start after clear Merkel triumph September 23, 2013 CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel’s impressive victory in Sunday’s federal election was confirmed yesterday morning, with her party polling 41.5 per cent of the vote, the highest in nearly two decades. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has already contacted the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to initiate coalition talks. The CDU came just shy of an overall majority [...]