FTSE 100 heads for biggest weekly gain in six weeks May 27, 2016 Britain's FTSE 100 was on course for its biggest weekly gain in six weeks today. The commodity heavy blue-chip index was up 1.7 per cent on the week, after oil prices touched $50 per barrel yesterday, and bank shares also made gains. It was down 0.1 per cent to 6,260.3 points in late afternoon trading. The [...]
Anglo American’s diamond business De Beers names new chief exec Bruce Cleaver May 27, 2016 Anglo American's De Beers said today it had appointed Bruce Cleaver as chief executive from 1 July. Cleaver will replace Philippe Mellier who decided to step down after five years at the world's biggest diamond producer. Cleaver had been group director of strategy and business development at Anglo. Prior to this, he'd served as exec director for strategy and commercial relationships at [...]
Oil prices fall back from $50 as supply concerns weigh May 27, 2016 Crude slumped today as investors worried higher prices would exacerbate the global oversupply. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 0.8 per cent to $49.2 per barrel this morning. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmarked, shed 0.8 per cent to $49.1. Read more: Oil and gas firms gear up for wave of M&A activity Oil pushed [...]
China raises £300m in London as part of first ever overseas RMB bond May 26, 2016 China's finance ministry today issued a three billion yuan (£312m) international bond, its first ever outside China or Hong Kong. The bond, set to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, was managed by HSBC and China's finance ministry. In October last year, China's central bank debuted on London markets with the sale of its first [...]
No IPO for Snapchat yet with new funding instead May 26, 2016 Messaging app of the moment Snapchat is now worth even more than everyone thought after it disclosed more than a billion dollars of new investment. The five-year old startup which has previously revealed plans for an eventual IPO, is staying private for now, having raised $1.8bn (£1.2bn) in a series F round of funding official documents filed with SEC revealed [...]
UKOG shares slump following fundraising round May 26, 2016 Shares in UK Oil & Gas Investments, the company behind the so-called Gatwick Gusher, slumped today after the announcement of a successful fundraising round. The Aim-listed firm announced today that it had raised £4m by placing 266,666,667 new shares at 1.5p each. Its shares closed down 10.8 per cent to 1.69p per share this afternoon. Read more: Ukog share price [...]
What Saudi Arabia’s new economic vision means for Opec’s June meeting May 26, 2016 Is Saudi Arabia likely to unshackle itself from oil dependency any time soon? Our view is — not. Determined to overcome its oil revenue dependency, the gulf state's deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has pledged to implement Vision 2030. It includes an ambitious programme to diversify Saudi’s economy, treble non-oil revenues to $100bn (£68bn) by [...]
French strikes spark confrontations between police and protestors May 26, 2016 Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets, smoke bombs were thrown and arrests made amid protests over new labour laws by the French government. Their grievances centre on the government's proposed reforms to employment laws, which make it easier for firms to hire and fire. Prime Minister Manuel Valls said some tweaks could be [...]
Loo roll business plans float ahead of EU referendum May 26, 2016 A Northern loo roll business is showing not even a wee bit of fear ahead of the EU referendum. Accrol today announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange’s alternative investment market (Aim) less than two weeks before the vote. The independent tissue converter, which has been advised by Zeus Capital, is expected [...]
Currency traders: Here’s what you can (and can’t) say according to a new global code of conduct May 26, 2016 So toxic is the reputation of currency traders that an international watchdog has today published a list of dos and dont's in a vain attempt to whip the flash boys into shape. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), often dubbed the central bank for central banks, has put together a lofty "FX global code" which sets out some basic behaviours [...]
