Ineos buys North Sea gas fields from Russian billionaire
Swiss chemicals giant Ineos has bought its first British North Sea gas fields, after Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman was forced to sell them as the West tightened sanctions against Russia.
Whilst Britain has told Fridman he is still welcome to invest in the country, the energy secretary before the election Ed Davey told Fridman’s firm LetterOne that they must sell the fields within six months. The assets, which include the Breagh and Clipper South fields, provide up to 8 percent of Britain’s requirements and could not be at risk of being affected by sanctions against Russia. The UK threatened Fridman with a license revocation if a sale was not finalised by the 20th October.
In a statement made today, Ineos Chairman Jim Ratcliffe said they were pleased with the acquisition:
“They are high quality, low risk assets and they come with a highly experienced management team. Whilst no decisions have yet been made, we will continue to evaluate other opportunities in the North Sea.
“INEOS has been very open about its intention to make strategic investments in the North Sea and this acquisition is our first step in fulfilling this goal. It will also help our UK petrochemical assets to have ongoing access to competitive energy.”
Last year Ineos announced plans to invest $1 billion in British shale gas exploration using fracking technology, and have invested heavily in shipping and processing fracked gas from America.
Glencore accepting bids on Austrialian and Chilean mines
Mining giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) has announced plans to sell copper mines in both Australia and Chile, in an attempt to reduce its overall debt.
The firm’s Australian copper mine in Cobar, New South Wales, and its Lomas Bayas copper mine in the Atacama desert in Chile are for sale. Shares in the company have fallen over 55 percent this year, and this is the latest in a series of measures instigated to pull back the debt created by its 2013 takeover of Xstrata.
In a statement, the company said that the sale is a response to several “unsolicited expressions of interest”, and that it “will allow potential buyers to bid to purchase either one or both of the mines and may or may not result in a sale”.
The company has also pledged to cut capital expenditure, suspend dividend payments and raise $2.5 billion of new equity capital, with the share sale completed last month. On Friday, it announced plans to slash it’s zinc production, sending shares soaring.
Glencore are currently trading down 1.05 percent at 127.75 pence per share (0857GMT)
Strong day for China, mixed for Asia and dollar
Chinese shares had a strong day on Monday, rising over 3 percent to their highest level in seven weeks, whilst other Asian markets remained largely flat.
Bejing has taken further measures to stimulate the market and has said the correction is “almost over”. The Chinese government’s actions over the past weeks have supported various sectors and seems to have calmed investor sentiment.
The Shanghai Composite was up 3.11% at 3,282.29 points in afternoon trade, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 0.96%. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi closed flat, up 0.1%. Japan was closed for a national holiday.
September’s U.S. jobs report has continued to have an affect on the markets, with investors finding it likely that the Fed will not deliver a rate hike this year. Although the Bank of England’s Mark Carney said on Friday that England will not necessarily wait for the US to move first, there is speculation that interest rates won’t be going up in the UK either until autumn next year.
According to the EY Item Club in an interview with BBC’s Radio 4 this morning, the UK is unlikely to move this year:
“Remember last year, that was when oil prices crashed and we saw some cuts on the forecourt in petrol prices.
“Unfortunately those cuts wear out, they come out of the 12-month calculation and inflation will start to push up then.”
The dollar has struggled against other currencies since the jobs report on Friday, trading at its lowest levels in over a month.
Crowd2Fund launch first investment marketplace The Exchange
Crowd2Fund, one of the UK’s most successful crowdfunding platforms, has launched a revolutionary new platform: The Exchange, an online marketplace allowing investors to trade Crowd2Fund investments, giving access to capital for sellers and the opportunity to snap up a bargain for buyers.
It’s concept is not dissimilar to eBay, but for debt investments; sellers advertise investments they wish to sell and define the price of the trade. The better the price the sooner they get access to their capital, meaning that anyone interested in buying has the chance to buy some undervalued assets. Buying in this way, at a later stage in the investment, means those interested also have the advantage of seeing how well the investment has performed and can earn up to 15 percent APR by purchasing loans that are repaying successfully. What’s more, the new platform is free and easy to use, meaning anyone can get involved.
Crowd2Fund Chief Executive Chris Hancock comments:
“Our Exchange is another example of how London-based Fintech brands are creating common sense innovations to help businesses grow and investors earn better returns, securely and in a regulated way. The Exchange is a simple and free mechanism for hanging investment which we expect to be largely self-governing with investors having all the tools they need to make their decisions.”
One of the key reasons investors are put off investing in equity crowdfunding is a lack of foreseeable exit strategy. However, The Exchange makes this possible and may well attract more cautious investors to the idea of crowdfunding.
Crowd2Fund is one of the biggest UK crowdfunding platforms, and has successfully raised £2 million from a range of UK and international investors since its launch in 2014. For further information on The Exchange, visit the website here. Glencore shares shoot up on zinc cut announcement
Shares in mining giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) shot up nearly 6 percent this morning, after the company announced plans to slash its zinc production in an effort to cut costs.
Glencore shares have fallen nearly 30% over the last few months. To counteract this, the company are cutting 500,000 tonnes of zinc production; the equivalent 4% of the world’s total supply. They will be closing their Lady Loretta mine in Australia and Iscaycruz mine in Peru.
Glencore’s announcement sent both its share price and the price of zinc up 6%. In a statement, Glencore said: “We remain positive about the medium and long term outlook for zinc, lead and silver, however we are taking a proactive approach to manage our production in response to current prices.” Glencore is currently trading up 6.7 percent, at 128.84 pence per share. (0938GMT)Bank of England vote to keep rates at 0.5 percent
The Bank of England voted 8-1 on Thursday to keep Britain’s interest rates at the record low of 0.5 percent.
Only one committee member, Ian McCafferty, dissented. UK interest rates have now remained unchanged for more than six years.
In a statement made yesterday, the Bank of England governor Mark Carney reiterated yesterday that Britain will not necessarily wait for the Fed to move first. “The exact timing of the Fed move is not decisive for the timing of the move by the Bank of England. “We will take our responsibilities. We will determine the timing for the start of the process of monetary policy normalization.”Former Bank of England policymaker Andrew Sentence has also spoken out on the subject, telling the BBC’s Today programme that central banks in the UK and the US “need to be courageous” and raise interest rates, and that the banks are focusing too much on short term factors such as falling oil prices.
Fastjet signs distribution contract with Emirates
Africa’s budget airline Fastjet (AIM:FJET) is trading up nearly 5 percent this morning after announcing that it has signed a sales and distribution contract with Emirates Airlines.
Emirates’ passengers will now be able to access to Fastjet’s growing route network across East and Southern Africa and book tickets through Emirates website and reservation system.
Emirates currently fly to over 140 destinations across the world, including 20 in Africa, while fastjet is rapidly becoming the leading pan African low-cost carrier.
In a statement, the company said that “the partnership will benefit both fastjet and Emirates with greater passenger traffic and will give travellers in Africa the opportunity to connect to the rest of the world through Emirates’ Dubai hub with fastjet providing passengers from African towns and cities.”
Fast jet’s Chief Commercial Officer Richard Bodin commented on the agreement: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with such a highly regarded and successful airline. Not only will it allow us access to the millions of passengers that Emirates carries, it is also a significant validation of our operation, service and proven low-cost model. We look forward to greeting Emirates passengers on board our aircraft.”
London beats New York to premier property hotspot
London and New York have been battling it out for the position of the world’s premier property hotspot, according to a new report by Knight Frank – with London just about taking the lead.
The competition between these two cities for this position has always been high; according to Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s global head of research, “these two cities continue to lead development trends, in terms of design, pricing and iconic architecture”.
In terms of prices, London certainly has the upper hand. On average, property prices in London have risen by 138 percent over the last decade – the strongest increase of any city globally, including Asian cities such as Hong Kong, where prices have risen by 93 percent in the same period.
According to the report, London’s rising population and middle class work force are behind the surge. Londoners employed in finance, insurance, IT and telecoms rose from 1.28 million to 1.56 million between 2009 and 2014, outstripping the 1.1 million employed in the same sectors in New York and 0.8 million in Hong Kong.
However, it also highlighted a subject of much debate: London is struggling to meet housing requirements. Although official forecasts point to a requirement for 50,000 new housing units each year for the coming decade, the current delivery stands at just 30,000 units. Of those that are being built, many are designed to attract high-net work buyers from around the globe. According to Ian Marris, head of Knight Frank’s London Residential Development Team, “the global high-net-worthproperty buyer has never been more discerning or educated – or had more choice.”
The report lists several of London’s ‘developments of influence’, completing in the next few years. One of these is the area just north of Kings Cross, which is being developed by the Kings Cross Central Limited Partnership and is due for completion in 2020. A mixture of retail, office, luxury and affordable housing space, this development captures London’s ability to transform empty areas into prime property hotspots.
However, surprisingly, there may be a new city vying for the top spot: according to the Knight Frank, Miami is the one to look out for. Plagued by depression and repossession after the financial crisis, the property market is recovering again and prices have jumped 91 percent in the last five years – an impressive increase in such a short space of time. If Knight Frank are correct, both London and New York may have to watch their backs.
Miranda Wadham on 08/10/2015
Mixed day for Asian markets
Asian shares had a mixed day on Thursday, with Chinese stocks catching up with the global rally after a week-long break and the Nikkei dipping on weak economic data.
Shanghai stocks rose 3.6 percent at open and stayed up 3.2 percent in afternoon trade.
However, the release of a key Japanese indicator negatively affected the Nikkei; Core machinery orders fell by 5.7 percent in August, a far cry from the 3.2 percent increase expected by analysts. The index closed down 0.99% at 18,141.17 points.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent – down from its highest close since August 20th on Wednesday – and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.2 percent.
InBev makes third bid for SABMiller
The world’s biggest beer maker, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has made a third bid for rival SABMiller.
The Belgian giant has announced an offer of 42.15 pence a share, following bids of 38p and 40p. The combined group would be worth more than £180 billion. With InBev brewing Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, and SAB brews Peroni and Grolsch, the combined group would produce one-third of the world’s beer. Carlos Brito, Chief Executive Officer of Anheuser-Busch InBev, said in a statement: “Both companies have deep roots in some of the most historic beer cultures around the world and share a strong passion for brewing as well as a deep seated tradition of quality. “By bringing together our rich heritage, brands and people we would provide more opportunities for consumers to taste and enjoy the world’s best beers.” SABMillers biggest shareholder, the tobacco group Altria, has come out in support of the bid. InBev brews Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, while SAB brews Peroni and Grolsch, among others. InBev (NYSE:BUD) is currently trading down 1.07 percent, with SABMiller (LON:SAB) ip 1.5 percent. (1116GMT)