Volkswagen AG; market cap (as of 25/09/15): €55.0bn Small Software, Big Turmoil Volkswagen, the second largest carmaker in the world, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, is in the middle of one of the largest automotive scandals to date. The company was discovered cheating on the emission tests by installing software Read more…
Avago Technologies Limited (AVGO): market cap (as of 25/09/2015): $34.2bn. Broadcom Corp. (BRCM): market cap (as of 25/09/2015): $31.4bn. Introduction Following a wave of consolidation in the semiconductor industry, which culminated last March with the NPX/Freescale $11.8bn deal, on May 27, Avago Technologies Limited and Broadcom Corporation announced that they have entered Read more…
Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust; market cap (as of 26/09/2015): $953.73m Colony American Homes; market cap (as of 26/09/2015): N.A. Introduction On September 21 Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust (NYSE: SWAY) and Colony American Homes (CAH), two of the largest U.S. single-family home landlords, agreed on the merger in an all-stock deal Read more…
Driven by strong growth in China, the announcement of QE in the Eurozone and a solid recovery in the US, the automotive sector experienced a remarkable rally since the beginning of the year to the end of June. The SXAP (STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts Index) expanded more than Read more…
Is the Italian asset management industry entering its roaring years? In this report we try to analyze the current situation and to find an answer to this question. First, we focus our attention on the typical financial portfolio of Italian households. We will see how it can be broken down Read more…
In 2014 oil prices crashed. In June 2014, the price of Western Texas Intermediate[1] oil was $115.12 while in December it was $53.77. There are several reasons for abrupt decline in price. The main cause was the rapid supply growth which overwhelmed moderate demand. The political turmoil in Iraq and Read more…
After weeks of firm bull sentiment, major equity markets (especially European ones) have experienced a fast correction that, although small compared to the incredible year-to-date performance, has started to disturb the overall view of investors. Such a movement has coincided with a rebound on the EUR/USD, which postponed the breakout Read more…
US It was a busy week for many economies around the world and especially the US had its share of important monthly data coming in. US equity and bond markets were driven primarily by monthly US non-farm payroll (NFP) and unemployment rate. Economists’ average forecasts were for a net 224,000 Read more…
Telecity; Market Cap (as of 8/5/2015): £2.22bn Interxion; Market Cap (as of8/5/2015): $2.05bn Equinix; Market Cap (as of 8/5/2015): $15.17bn Digital Reality; Market Cap (as of 8/5/2015): $8.3bn Introduction On May 8, Telecity, a British data center operator, received a cash and stock offer of £2.3bn from its US Read more…
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.; market cap (as of 09/05/2015): $32.54bn Synageva Biopharma Corp.; market cap (as of 09/05/2015): $7.91bn Introduction On May 6, 2015, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN), the manufacturer of the world’s single most expensive prescription drug Soliris, and Synageva BioPharma Corp. (NASDAQ:GEVA) have entered into a definitive agreement Read more…
The Move. The PBoC has recently cut the Required Reserve Ratio (RRR) to 18.5%. The RRR represents the portion of cash that banks must deposit with the central bank. The size of the cut has been 100 basis point, double the expected 0.50%. A cut of the RRR represents a Read more…
US US equities failed to push through record territory and retreated from last Friday’s all-time high driven down by disappointing earnings reports and poor economic data. On Friday, the S&P 500 closed down at 2,108.29 from its Monday record peak of 2,125. Nasdaq Composite, the tech-heavy index, fell to 5,005.39 Read more…
After our last week’s report on the NASDAQ, we further analyse PE ratios, their meaning and the factors that drive them this week Researchers from the NY Fed have raised the point that the Equity Risk Premium (ERP) – conceptually defined as the excess return expected from investing into stocks Read more…
Introduction As the financial system stabilises after the recent crisis, three distinct business models are emerging. First, focused retail institutions with a specific offering of products and services, such as American regional banks and Europe’s savings banks. Second, investment banks which also operate asset management businesses and private equity investments. Read more…
Comcast Corporation, Market Cap (as of 30/04/2015): $145.2bn Time Warner Cable Enterprises, Market Cap (as of 30/04/2015): $43.94bn Introduction The dream of combining the two American giant companies Comcast and Time Warner Cable has come to an end. On April 17, Comcast officially dropped its $45.2bn bid for TWC Read more…