Reuters: Stocks & Shares News

Shire may be exception in pharma M&A trend

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:03:49 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - A near $30 billion (19 billion pounds) bid for Shire could emerge as the stand-out deal in the European pharmaceutical universe this year, a highlight for bankers in a market otherwise likely to be dominated by bolt-on acquisitions.

Apple lags on iIts low returns on cash

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:59:47 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc once again rewarded shareholders richly as its shares surged to new highs above $500 on Monday. There is, though, one part of the iPhone and iPad company's business that is not exactly humming: Its management of a pile of money now probably exceeding $100 billion (63.5 billion pounds).

Brewing model saves Germany from bankers' droop

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:55:20 GMT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Raise a glass of beer in a German bar and the chances are it was made just down the road to a simple, ancient formula.

Venezuela's Capriles faces uphill battle against Chavez

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:10:05 GMT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition flagbearer Henrique Capriles could give President Hugo Chavez the closest race of his career, though the socialist leader's charisma and deep pockets provide formidable advantages as he seeks re-election in October.

Tough calculus for Obama in Chinese leader's election-year visit

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:11:46 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Even as he greets China's vice president in the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Barack Obama is quietly overhauling U.S. economic policy toward Beijing, looking for new ways to extract results on issues such as market access and currency manipulation that have bedevilled him and his predecessors.

S&P's Moritz Kraemer - Europe's AAA-rated Mr Scissorhands

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:14:30 GMT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - On January 13, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut the credit ratings of nine euro zone countries, stripping France and Austria of their triple-A status and triggering new concerns about the region's financial health.

China offshore yuan market booms even as yuan bets fade

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:53:49 GMT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Three years after China launched its most ambitious experiment yet to give its currency more global clout, some market watchers are writing its epitaph, saying Beijing is not loosening its grip on the yuan fast enough to attract sustained interest.

Beyond Chinese New Year data skew, a bear lurks

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:01:19 GMT

BEIJING (Reuters) - Trying to track China's economic course during the Lunar New Year can leave analysts howling at the moon. January auto sales tumbled, yet oil imports were the third highest on record. A measure of factory activity picked up, but trade data was weak.

Don't chase market stampedes as risks run amok

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:54:24 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - If both the perma-bears and perma-bulls are wrong in their immovable convictions about the long-term global investment outlook, then 2012 may require a more agile beast and possibly one with both claws and hooves.

Exuberant Indian markets gloss over economic reality

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:39:03 GMT

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Surging capital inflows, booming stock markets and a fast-appreciating currency suggest the India story is again shining after a dismal 2011.

Merkozy fights to prevent Merkollande

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:50:36 GMT

PARIS (Reuters) - Things must be getting desperate if Angela Merkel is intervening in French politics to try to save Nicolas Sarkozy from defeat.

Japan's stay-at-home firms finally spread their wings

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:49:58 GMT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese companies are again venturing offshore, and this time a new breed of business is striking deals overseas.

Euro zone strugglers lack innovative knack

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:48:01 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - To get an idea of the economic mountain euro zone strugglers Greece and Portugal have to climb, consider this: per million inhabitants, they each filed fewer than eight applications with the European Patent Office in 2010.

A sobering look at Facebook

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:34:45 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - It's the year's hottest initial public offering, but some wealth managers find themselves having a hard time recommending Facebook to their clients.

Bond benchmarks put investors in undue danger

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:15:58 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Investors are needlessly exposing themselves to huge potential losses by defying two golden rules for making money through bonds - lend more to those who will pay on time in full and less to those already saturated in debt.

Spectre of forced selling haunts rallying Italy debt

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:41:27 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Italy's bonds have made sizzling returns this year but fears the country will lose its investment-grade status are putting off long-term investors whose support Rome needs to tackle a mountain of refinancing and ease worries about its debt.

UK gas prone to spikes as Qatar dominates supply

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:13:21 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - British gas prices are likely to become more volatile and prone to spikes over the next few years after the UK has moved from self-sufficiency to increasing dependence on imports of liquefied natural gas from Qatar.

Facebook's daunting Asian challenge

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:11:15 GMT

(Reuters) - Facebook aims to connect all two billion Internet users. So far it has captured 845 million of them. Of the rest, nearly 60 percent live in Asia and hooking them is going to be a daunting challenge.

Facebook IPO tests easy growth assumptions

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:09:39 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - As Facebook hurtles toward one of the largest initial public offerings in U.S. history, its honeymoon with investors may already be over.

Why ECB liquidity is not reaching Portugal

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:08:14 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - A slump in Portuguese bond prices in the past month shows there are parts of the euro zone government debt market that massive shots of cheap money from the European Central Bank cannot reach.

German solar groups could thrive on subsidy fears

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:34:44 GMT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Fears Germany will cap or cut green energy subsidies is boosting demand for solar panels, and uncertainty about the shape of the measures could give the country's battered solar sector an advantage against Chinese rivals.

Patent plaintiffs target Facebook as IPO approaches

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:35:09 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - As it prepares for one of the biggest IPOs ever, Facebook is coming under the same fierce attacks being waged against other big technology companies: patent lawsuits.

Q+A: Can buyers of seized Sudanese crude get into legal trouble?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:01:30 GMT

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Buyers of South Sudanese oil seized by Sudan may escape legal trouble although Khartoum may get dragged into a prolonged arbitration battle for selling crude at steep discounts, lawyers said on Tuesday.

Analysis: Fed-watching gives Asian central banks cause to pause

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:46:05 GMT

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asia's central bankers have yet another reason to hesitate now that the U.S. Federal Reserve looks likely to keep interest rates low for longer.

More than ever, businesses must think 'what if'

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:39:35 GMT

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - A tumultuous 12 months that saw revolutions in the Middle East, a worsening debt crisis in Europe and a tsunami in Japan has set the tone for corporate activity in 2012.