Volatile market conditions force smartcard maker Oberthur Tech to postpone French IPO November 4, 2015 Oberthur Technologies, the world's second largest manufacturer of smartcards, has postponed its IPO on Paris Euronext market citing concerns over current market conditions. Oberthur, which is owned by private equity group Advent International, had hoped to raise €500-€600m (£354m-£425m) pay debt and fund research into digital security. Didier Lamouche, chief executive of Oberthur, said: The decision [...]
Maersk Line is cutting 4,000 jobs to tackle slowing global trade November 4, 2015 Maersk Line is slashing jobs, hit hard by deteriorating global trade. The world’s largest shipping company, part of Danish group Maersk, is cutting 4,000 jobs at least, scaling back over the next two years. Maersk has also decided to cancel plans to buy six new ships and scale back its capacity to tackle the continuing [...]
VW share price drops again as emissions scandal widens to include CO2 data, and Porsche says it will stop selling some models November 4, 2015 Volkswagen shares plummeted almost 10 per cent this morning after the company revealed last night it had discovered "irregularities" in the CO2 levels in some 800,000 cars, which could cost a further €2bn. VW's share price was 9.5 per cent down at €100.45 in late morning trading. London Capital Group analysts said: "VW added €2bn to [...]
Countrywide shares are getting hammered after warning on profits November 4, 2015 Countrywide’s share price is getting hammered, leading the losers on the FTSE 250, after having warned on profits. The company’s share price was down 12.70 per cent in mid-morning trading after the announcement. Read more: Countrywide shares slump after housing market slowdown Shares in Britain's biggest lettings and estate agency Countrywide have plunged more than [...]
Countrywide blames housing market slowdown for profits warning as shares plunge November 4, 2015 Shares in Britain's biggest lettings and estate agency Countrywide have plunged more than 12 per cent this morning after the company issued a shock profits warning, blaming a slowdown in the housing market. The company, which owns estate agencies including Hamptons, Blundells and John D Wood, despite generally encouraging economic conditions, the pick-up in residential transactions it had anticipated following the [...]
Worldpay upgraded to “BB” rating after successful IPO November 4, 2015 Worldpay has been upgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s after successfully completing its IPO. The British payments processor was the biggest London float of 2015 by far, when it listed on 13 October with an offer of 240p per share, giving it a market cap of £4.8bn. Since then, Worldpay stocks have climbed to [...]
Advertising giant WPP buys majority stake in digital media buyer Essence November 4, 2015 A sign of the times? Ad giant WPP announced this morning it had bought a majority stake in Essence, a London-based digital media buyer. In a statement this morning, WPP said Essence, which was founded in London in 2005 and manages media spend of more than $700m (£453m), "blends data science, objective media and captivating experiences to [...]
Glencore share price soars to make it FTSE’s biggest riser as debt pile shrinks more than expected November 4, 2015 Glencore is expecting net debt to fall to $25bn by the end of the year, as asset sales in Australia and Chile have helped shrink the miner’s mountain of debt. The embattled mining and trading giant, which has been struggling to reassure investors worried about the size of its debt pile, today announced a debt [...]
SABMiller and AB InBev request another extension on the megabrew deal deadline November 4, 2015 The megabrew deal could be put off yet again. Brewing giants AB InBev and SABMiller have requested the UK Takeover Panel to extend the deadline by when they must formally agree on a takeover deal that would create the world’s largest brewer by far. Today was AB InBev's deadline to make a formal offer, but [...]
Emerging market slowdown wipes £79bn off the value of Britain’s biggest firms November 4, 2015 One day after Standard Chartered’s “disappointing” third-quarter results sent the Asia-focused bank’s share price down nearly 10 per cent during trading, City PM analysis reveals that the slowdown in China and other emerging markets has wiped off around £79bn from some of Britain’s biggest businesses. Eight blue-chip companies have seen their combined market cap plummet by £78.7bn [...]
