Stock Market News

Burberry has seen an increase in the price of its shares even though the fashion house has also recorded a drop in demand in China, one of the company’s key growth markets. Stock was up 13 per cent on news that other markets remained strong. For the half-year ending in September underlying revenues rose by eight per cent compared to that...

A proposed merger between EADS and BAE systems has hit a stumbling block as Lagardere a major shareholder in the European giant has expressed reservations regarding the deal. As it stands, a decision about the tie-up needs to be made by 10 October because of a deadline set by the UK’s Takeover Panel. However, a request for an extension from...

It is expected that today will see Xstrata board members tell the mining company’s share holders that they should agree to a merger with Glencore, the commodities trader. The UK Takeover Panel has set today as the deadline for a decision. Glencore first announced its interest in a tie-up in May this year, but a disagreement over share...

Shares were slightly up across Europe at the end of the week as traders expect an announcement by China it is to introduce further measures to stimulate economic growth. However, investors are remaining cautious because of uncertainty surrounding Spain’s ability to initiate the fiscal reforms and spending cuts it will need for a financial...

Spain’s ailing economy has caused stock markets across Europe to fall. A general strike and fears that Greece is on the verge of exiting the single currency has also helped stocks to drop. A report from the Bank of Spain confirms that the country’s economy continued to shrink during the third quarter. Spain’s deepening recession and...

Shares in Carnival, the cruise ship operator, have risen as the company announced better than predicted results for the third quarter of the year. Analysts, and the cruise company, expected profits to be hit after the sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy in January this year. However, a $1.33 billion profit for the three...

Shares in social network giant Facebook took a tumble at the beginning of the week after the respected markets publication, Barron’s, released a story in which it claimed that the website’s stock is still greatly overvalued. Since May, when Facebook listed on the stock exchange, the value of its shares has dropped by 40 per...

Stocks in Asia have slipped slightly as investors focus on the health of the global economy and lock in recent gains. The markets were recently stimulated by a decision by central banks to pump more cash into financial systems. Stocks in South Korea lost around one per cent but could rise again if Spain is awarded a bailout package and oil...

Chinese oil giant CNOOC could soon take control of Canada’s Nexen after shareholders approved a take over bid worth $15.1 billion. However, the deal is meeting with opposition from Canadian politicians and residents who do not believe that the country should hand its natural resources over to a wholly foreign owned firm. In July CNOOC...

A proposed tie-up between BAE Systems in the UK and aeronautical giant EADS would be positive for investors in both companies, claims EADS chief executive Tom Enders. He said that a rise in BAE shares and a drop in the value of EADS stock immediately following an announcement of the proposal happened because investors had been...

A return to the Tokyo Stock Exchange by Japan Airlines has seen a strong demand for shares, which have risen in value by 2.6 per cent. Nearly three years ago the flag carrier was forced to file for bankruptcy and was removed from the stock exchange. Shares were relisted at 3,790 yen and have since risen in value to 3,890 yen. The initial...

Protests in China sparked by Japan’s decision to buy a group of Islands China claims it already owns has seen share prices of Japanese companies operating in China fall on the Nikkei in Tokyo. Japanese firms have taken the decision to suspend operations at factories in China as many fear the protests could get worse. Nissan Motors has...

An announcement last week that the US Federal Reserve will be introducing measures to help boost the economy has helped to push the world’s stock markets to multi-month highs. The new securities buying programme has resulted in investors putting money into riskier stocks and assets. The markets are also being supported by expectations...

The proposed merger of BAE Systems in the UK with EADS, the European aerospace giant, has seen shares in both companies fall. Although BAE stock originally surged by seven per cent, the firm saw shares drop by 7.3 per cent yesterday. EADS shares initially lost five per cent of their value and have since dropped a further 10.2 per cent. The...

Shares in BAE systems, the UK defence contractor, have risen by around eight per cent on the news that it may be considering a merger with EADS, the European aerospace company. In a statement issued by BAE it was explained that the firms would operate as a single entity, but would remain separately listed on their respective stock...

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that the dramatic drop in the share value of the world’s largest social networking site is disappointing. Since being floated in May this year at $38 per share, Facebook’s stock value has nearly halved. Mr Zuckerberg was addressing a TechCrunch Disrupt conference when...

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...

Peugeot Citroen, the French automotive company, has been told that after 24 September it will no longer have a place on the Cac 40 index. The announcement is an embarrassment for a firm, which was one of the founding members of the index 25 years ago. Peugeot’s place on the Cac 40 is to go to Solvay, the Belgian chemical producer. The...

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...