McDonald’s works to cut costs by selling a majority stake in its China and Hong Kong businesses January 9, 2017 McDonald's is set to sell 80 per cent of its China and Hong Kong businesses for up to $2.1bn (£1.7bn) in an effort to franchise more of its global restaurants. The deal with Chinese conglomerate Citic and US asset manager Carlyle will help McDonald's cut operating costs in its Asian businesses. Originally, the fast-food giant planned to raise up [...]
Bitcoin fraud allegations: US derivatives regulator sues three cryptocurrency operations January 19, 2018 The US derivatives watchdog has filed charges against three separate cryptocurrency operators with allegations of fraud. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), charged New York resident Patrick McDonnell and his company CabbageTech with fraud, saying the defendants “preyed on customers interested in bitcoin and litecoin”. In the second case, the CFTC alleged Dillon Michael Dean [...]
Burger King spooks McDonald’s with Halloween stunt October 28, 2016 Scratching your head over what you can whip out as a last minute Halloween costume? Well, it doesn't matter what you go for as Burger King has already won Halloween this year. The restaurant disguised a location in Queens, New York as a McDonald's ghost (though still let its Burger King branding show through the eye [...]
Artemis US equities: Late-cycle investing … December 6, 2018 Cormac Weldon, manager of the Artemis US Select Fund and the Artemis US Smaller Companies Fund, analyses the reasons for increased volatility in the US market and explains why he is currently favouring companies with stable, predictable earnings. Context is everything. Two of the factors behind the recent increase in market volatility and the significant [...]
Leicester City deal helps Puma outstrip rivals Adidas and Nike in Brandwatch study May 3, 2018 Puma is outperforming bigger rivals Adidas and Nike to achieve the best return on investment from its football kit deals, according to a new study published today. The German sportswear manufacturer’s contracts with Leicester and Arsenal rank highest for value in Brandwatch’s Brand Visibility Report, which is based on data from social media. Every image [...]
Belfast has big plans to become the home of the Titanic and a top TV shooting location. But will that help the property market? November 2, 2018 A couple of weeks ago, a consortium of hedge funds clubbed together to raise $19.5m to buy bric-a-brac from the bottom of the ocean. At first glance, these 5,500 items bore no relation to each other; a bowler hat, the sleek curves of a bronze angel, a steel door. Their immense value derives solely from [...]
An investment to hold when volatility strikes? March 7, 2018 Funds in the Targeted Absolute Return sector aim to produce positive returns in a variety of market conditions through using sophisticated investment techniques such as short selling (profiting when prices fall). They generally aim to make modest yet consistent gains with smoother performance than traditional funds; admirable objectives that resonate with many investors, but there [...]
Fulham season preview: Why optimism is in the air on their return to the Premier League | City A.M. August 6, 2018 Newly promoted sides are expected to feel a bit of apprehension upon the dawning of a new season. Making the step from the Championship to the Premier League is undoubtedly a tough task, after all. For Fulham, that task is made harder by their route to the promised land. Slavisa Jokanovic’s side beat Aston Villa [...]
Heathrow hails expansion progress as critics warn of ‘insurmountable flaws’ January 15, 2018 A key milestone looms for Heathrow this week, as the airport launches a consultation with fleshed-out revamped proposals for expansion to appease critics. London’s biggest airport will on Wednesday start a public planning consultation on the project, to gather public feedback on its proposals which it said will help refine its plans further. It will [...]
Latest filings by British arm of McDonald’s reveals level of royalty payments to Luxembourg entity October 30, 2016 The British operations of burger giant McDonald's paid £123m for franchise rights last year which are part of a structure that is being investigated by European authorities. The company, whose UK operations are captured in a Luxembourg based company, McD Europe Franchising, reported a profit of $541m for the year to December 2015, almost identical to the $540m it [...]