Slater & Gordon shares plunge
Slater & Gordon shares slid by as much as 17 per cent as the company appears to have missed its self-imposed deadline to update investors about closely watched cashflows. Slater & Gordon said that the process of reviewing its approach to financial forecasting was also proceeding as planned under its new chief financial officer Bryce Houghton. Click here for full article.
China blasts Soros over currency comments
An op-ed article published by the People’s Daily has laughed off George Soros’ assertion that he’s shorting Asian currencies, suggesting that any challenge to the renminbi is foolish. In an interview last week, Soros blamed the Chinese economy for the bearish outlook on global market and suggested a hard landing was unavoidable. Over the past year China’s currency has lost more than 5 per cent in value against the USD. Click here for full article.
Qube consortium makes rival $9b takeover offer for Asciano
Brookfield Infrastructure’s $9 billion takeover bid for Asciano has been formally challenged, with a Qube-led consortium making a binding offer valuing the ports and rail group at $9.08 per share. The consortium, which already owns 19.99% of Asciano, claimed its offer was superior to an earlier bid from Canada’s Brookfield Infrastructure based on Qube’s closing price of $2.11 on January 25. Click here for full article.
Why China is pumping huge sums into its financial system
Capital flight from China, as investors become less certain about future economic prosperity, isn’t the only worry for the PBoC. The festivities of Chinese New Year has put pressure on the financial system, as people splash cash on gifts, meals and travel. The People’s Bank of China typically pours extra funds into the system ahead of time. Failure to do so would cause liquidity to tighten every year. Click here for full article.
NAB’s Clydesdale demerger: shareholders give approval
National Australia Bank shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the complex demerger of Clydesdale Bank, bringing them closer to drawing the curtain on almost 30 years in Britain that has burnt billions of dollars. At an often heated times meeting in Melbourne yesterday, 99 per cent of shareholders backed the historic transaction that will leave Clydesdale to fend for itself and free NAB to focus on its more profitable Australian and New Zealand operations. Click here for full article.