Banks hit by S&P Greece default blow July 4, 2011 Banking shares took a hit in early trading after ratings agency S&P issued a fresh warning over the Greek debt crisis. S&P said Greece would be likely to default if it follows a debt rollover plan in which French banks would allow the country to pay back its debt to them over decades. Investors were [...]
Regent Street branded new Fifth Avenue June 26, 2011 SUPERGROUP chief executive Julian Dunkerton has labelled Regent Street – where it is to have its flagship store – as “the UK’s answer to Fifth Avenue”, as some of the world’s most famous brands line up to set up shop there. In a changing of the guard among retailers, SuperGroup has bought the lease on [...]
Strong results nudge FTSE up in spite of US debt stalemate July 26, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares managed modest gains yesterday as solid results from blue-chips including drugmaking group GlaxoSmithKline and energy firm BG Group more than offset an earnings miss from heavyweight BP. Volume on the FTSE 100 was thin, however, as investors waited for clarity from US debt ceiling talks. The UK benchmark index ended up 4.47 [...]
Return to home ground makes perfect sense for the UK’s traditional outfitter April 17, 2011 COMING after weeks of share price volatility following the Japan earthquake, Ahrendts’ enthusiasm for London could look like a miscalculated retrenchment, especially when Burberry’s Asian sales grew 50 per cent in the first six months of 2010. So has market uncertainty really spooked Ahrendts that much? The answer is a definite no. Far from turning [...]
Prada prices HK listing June 6, 2011 ITALIAN fashion house Prada is pricing its initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong to raise up to $2.6bn (£1.6bn) and give the maker of luxury bags and Miu Miu dresses a higher valuation than its European peers. Prada set an indicative price range of HK$36.5 to HK$48 (£2.90 to £3.80) a share for the [...]
Beware saturation as brands flock East May 30, 2011 BY betting on the future spending power of China’s consumer market, Samsonite is the latest in a string of retailers looking to make the most of the country’s booming luxury goods market. French skincare group L’Occitane priced a $700m initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong last year, and fellow aspirational brands Burberry and Prada are [...]
HKEx: a global IPO hot-spot June 21, 2011 THE Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) is Asia’s third largest exchange in terms of market capitalisation, after Tokyo and Shanghai. It was first established in 1891, although informal exchanges were taking place in Hong Kong for some thirty years previous to that date. Nowadays, the exchange has become well-known for attracting big international companies – [...]
Beware the excess baggage of Samsonite June 6, 2011 PRADA and Samsonite will go cap in hand to Hong Kong investors for a combined $4bn (£2.4bn) when they launch their IPOs this month. Both will claim membership of the luxury goods sector, which is booming in Asia. One is a century-old Italian doyen of haute couture, a byword for sophistication and class. The other [...]
Banks hit by Greece loan delay June 20, 2011 Banking stocks took a pummeling in early trading today as Eurozone ministers stalled on loan payments to Greece creating more uncertainty surrounding the beleaguered country. Ministers said Greece would need to introduce harsh austerity measures before it received the 12bn euros (£10.6bn) in loans. The FTSE 100 was dented by the news and European markets [...]
Commodities boost FTSE rise as China data elevates miners July 13, 2011 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 bounced yesterday, led by commodity stocks as economic data from China and soothing words from the US Federal Reserve raised hopes that stagnation in the global economic recovery might prove short-lived. Having fallen near five per cent over the previous three days, the mining sector rallied 1.8 per cent after China’s GDP [...]