Stock Market News Page 2

Glencore, the commodities firm, has renewed an offer for a merger with Xstrata, the mining group. The revised deal includes Glencore lifting its offer from 2.8 shares for every Xstrata share to 3.05 shares. The new deal also includes a provision that would mean Ivan Glasenberg of Glencore becoming head of the group six months after the deal...

An announcement by the European Central Bank that it intends to buy bonds in an attempt to ease the debt crisis gripping the eurozone has met with positive reactions from markets around the globe. The ECB hopes that bond buying will drive down the cost of borrowing for a number of the block’s struggling economies. Earlier in 2012, the...

Shares in Lenovo, the Chinese computer manufacturer, have dipped following a decision by Japanese firm NEC to dispose of all of its stock in the company. NEC purchased more than 280 million shares in Lenovo as part of a deal which would see it retain 51 per cent of a new venture the two firms were working on to manufacture computers for the...

Vivendi, the French telecoms and media company, has reported a second quarter drop in net profits. The firm has blamed a 46 per cent fall in profits to €619 million on its struggling telecoms division. Revenues are down by 1.5 per cent to €6.96 billion. Because of the trouble it is currently having with its SFR phone unit, the firm said...

A fall in sales of inkjet printers has led to US firm Lexmark announcing that it is to close its factory in the Philippines by 2015, which produces inkjet supplies, as well as ceasing to develop inkjet technology by 2013. The moves are being made as the company seeks ways to improve profitability and will cost around 1,700 jobs. Paul...

Samsung is gearing up to challenge the recent decision by a US court that the South Korean electronics firm infringed Apple patents. The decision by the US District Court saw shares in Samsung plunge seven per cent as investors fear a revenue slump as products are taken off the market. Samsung is complaining that the decision of the court...

Samsung has seen its shares drop in value after the electronics firm lost a court battle with Apple which has resulted in a fine of more than $1 billion. Samsung was found guilty of copying Apple’s designs by a jury in the US. Shares in the South Korean company were down by seven per cent, the heaviest drop since 2008. The firm has...

An announcement by the US government that the number of jobless was up over the last week has caused stocks to fall. According to the Labor Department, the number of unemployed has risen by 4,000. Experts are worried that this will mean job growth for August has slowed down compared to last month. The Dow Jones dropped 74 points on the...

Heineken is likely to take a controlling stake in the producer of Tiger Beer after a deal worth $4.5 billion was agreed with Fraser and Neave for its controlling stake in Asia Pacific Breweries. However, the deal still has to be approved through a vote by the company’s shareholders. In a statement, Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, Heineken’s...

Shares in social networking giant Facebook fell sharply at the end of the first lock-up period this week. In New York on Wednesday shares dropped in value from $20.74 to $19.87, a fall of 6.27 per cent. The end of the lock-up period meant that more than 270 million shares could be sold on Thursday. Lock-ups are put in place to prevent...