Yahoo agreed to take a $350m cut on the original $4.8bn sale of its core business to Verizon, becoming one of the first major US companies to revise deal terms because of a cyber attack. Verizon, the US telecoms company, will now pay the California-based internet company $4.5bn, Yahoo said on Tuesday, ending months of uncertainty about the future of the deal first agreed in July last year. […]
European markets regulators are examining a potential loophole in share-trading rules, which they fear promotes lightly regulated, private networks rather than placing curbs on trade away from public exchanges. Concern is mounting that the rules, which take effect from next January, could be exploited by some banks and high-frequency traders (HTF), to sidestep policymakers’ determination to make share trading more transparent. In an effort to improve trading […]
At least 180 Chinese listed companies will be forced to cancel or scale back planned rights offerings worth $97bn in response to regulations that target excessive fundraising used for dubious acquisitions and financial speculation. The rules come as Chinese regulators are increasingly concerned about the trend of “exit the real, enter the fake” — a phrase used to denote companies abandoning real economic activity in favour of […]
Instagram has revealed there are 63 million users in the MENA region, equivalent to ten percent of the social media platform’s global community. Worldwide, Instagram has 600 million people actively using the platform each month, with 400 of those logging in on a daily basis. Instagram Stories has also proven popular, with 150 million new posts each day. The latest figures highlight how people in MENA have […]
By Sumeet Chatterjee and Lawrence White | HONG KONG/LONDON HONG KONG/LONDON HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) reported a 62 percent slump in annual pre-tax profit that fell way short of analysts’ estimates as the British bank took hefty writedowns from restructuring and pointed to brakes on revenue growth. HSBC shares slid more than 6 percent after the company reported revenues fell by a fifth from 2015, underscoring the challenge […]
Success for banks selling large blocks of stock in the European market this year points to a supportive environment for new listings in the months ahead, bankers say. There have been 70 such accelerated offerings so far this year according to Dealogic, worth €11.3bn, more than double the €5.5bn sold in the same period a year ago when anxiety about the state of China’s economy prompted much […]
HONG KONG Asian stocks held near 1-1/2-year highs in subdued early trade on Tuesday as a holiday in the United States left investors with few catalysts, while the euro nursed overnight losses as lingering concerns about the looming French election rattled its bonds. Political concerns have been at the front and center of investors’ minds over the past week or so, with markets wary about the outcome […]
By Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis Restaurant Brands International Inc, owner of the Burger King and Tim Hortons fast-food chains, is nearing a deal to acquire Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The deal, which will likely value Popeyes at more than $1.7 billion, is a bet by Oakville, Ontario-based Restaurant Brands that it can use its international reach to introduce […]
Pre-results jitters put Pearson among Monday’s sharpest fallers. Ahead of its full-year figures due Friday, Pearson faded 3.9 per cent to 642.5p. Since a profit warning in late January, the textbook publisher had rallied as much as 17 per cent amid hopes of another round of cost-cutting. But Pearson has already spent £610m on restructuring since 2013, to net cumulative savings of just £586m even before reinvestment, […]
By Simon Jessop and Sophie Sassard | LONDON LONDON Snap Inc, owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, kicked off its first investor roadshow on Monday, looking to persuade London money managers to back its initial public offering in the face of concerns about its growth prospects, valuation and corporate governance. The U.S. company, which has yet to make a profit, aims to raise between $19.5 billion and […]
For President Trump, the designation debate is an election promise made good. He has made no bones about taking an approach to the Middle East that is narrowly focused on counterterrorism, and that plays to domestic supporters who view all Islamist movements — or even all Muslims — as potentially hostile. Continue reading the main story In much of the Middle East, though, the rapid pace and […]
Submitted by Don Quijones via WolfStreet.com, Untouchable. Inviolable. Immunity. Impunity. These are the sort of words and expressions that are often associated with senior central bankers, who are, by law, able to operate more or less above the law of the jurisdictions in which they operate. Rarely heard in association with senior central bankers are words or expressions like “accused”, “charged” or “under investigation.” But in Spain this […]
LONDON Shares in Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group Unilever (ULVR.L) (UNc.AS) dropped 8 percent on Monday after U.S. rival Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) abruptly ditched its surprise $143 billion merger proposal. Backed by Warren Buffett and the private equity firm 3G, Kraft had wanted to buy Unilever to build a global consumer goods giant but its offer was flatly rejected on Friday by the maker of Lipton tea […]
SYDNEY Asian share markets were mixed on Monday as political uncertainty globally kept the mood cautious, while the U.S. dollar dithered in a tight range ahead of a busy week for Federal Reserve events. Turnover was light with U.S. markets closed for the Presidents Day holiday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged up 0.1 percent and back toward a 19-month peak reached last […]
New Zealand telecommunications providers Spark, 2degrees, and InternetNZ have filed proceedings with the High Court requesting a 36-hour delay on any merger to occur between Sky TV and Vodafone NZ. The merger is due to be decided by the regulator on Thursday, with the court proceedings set for Wednesday morning. A 36-hour delay would provide Vodafone NZ’s rivals with “breathing space” wherein they can examine and question […]
Submitted by Greg Piper via The College Fix, “Affirmative consent” is a fuzzy concept even for adults, which is why one of them taught 10th graders in California that they must say “yes” every 10 minutes during sex or it becomes rape. The concept was enshrined in state law in October 2015, and since then California has remained the only state to legally require “yes means yes” […]
Kraft Heinz, the Warren Buffett-backed US food group, dropped its $143bn pursuit of consumer products rival Unilever on Sunday, only two days after publicly confirming its interest in acquiring the Anglo-Dutch rival. Kraft Heinz said in a joint statement with Unilever that it had “amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies”. A takeover would have created the world’s second-largest consumer goods […]
Pakistan stocks exchange (PSX) remained under pressure during the week ended February 17, 2017 as worsening security situation and political uncertainty kept the participants on the sidelines, dealers said. An analyst at Arif Habib Limited (AHL) said mixed trend was witnessed at the local bourse with levels above the psychological 50K mark seemingly untenable. “Resistance became the underlying theme of the market given reservations over the ongoing […]
Saudi Arabia officials and executives of around 14 companies plan to embark on a marketing tour of Singapore and Hong Kong next month to attract Asian investors in the $430 billion stock exchange, banking sources told Reuters on Thursday. The HSBC Saudi Arabia Investment Forum will include stops in Singapore on March 1-2 and Hong Kong on March 3, the sources said. The trip reflects the rising […]
Soundtrack Your Brand (SYB), the brainchild of an ex-Spotify executive and the quickest growing background music company, has raised $22 million in a round of funding. The round was led by UK’s Balderton Capital and Industrifonden, which is a Nordic venture capital fund. The funding, SYB revealed will be used for the business’ worldwide expansion, as well as improving the service. The company intends to use the […]
When Paul Polman became chief executive of Unilever, the consumer goods company which on Friday rejected a $143bn takeover approach from Kraft Heinz, he told investors to steer clear unless they were prepared to sacrifice short-term profit for “sustainable” ideals. The same message has been delivered to the maker of Kool-Aid drinks and Oscar Mayer hot dogs, with a flat rejection of a deal that would be […]
Michigan Republicans are reportedly mulling a Senate run for heartland heartthrob Kid Rock, a country and rock star, who loves to “sit in the backyard sun and drink beer with dad,” according to his autobiographical song, “Drinking Beer With Dad.” Once unthinkable, Kid Rock for Senate is hardly unthinkable now: A professional wrestler has served multiple terms as governor of Minnesota, Christine “I dabbled in witchcraft” O’Donnell […]
Mondelez shares dropped 5 per cent in early trading on Friday after Kraft Heinz’s approach for Unilever lessened the odds that the US group would be an acquisition target. Speculation of a potential take-over by Kraft of Mondelez was a “key factor supporting multiples for the group at such a high level,” said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher Growe. “While this potential transaction (between Kraft and Unilever) does […]
The shares of several competing food producers were under pressure on Friday after Kraft Heinz approached Unilever to propose a $143bn takeover. Mondelez, Kellogg, General Mills and Campbell Soup are all seen as potential buyout targets for Kraft, said Christopher Growe, analyst at Stifel Nicolaus. “While this potential transaction does not count out a future acquisition of these businesses, it certainly delays the potential at least a […]
