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    Prada Hong Kong IPO may raise up to $2.6bn

    Italian luxury fashion house Prada is looking to raise between $2bn- $2.6bn in a Hong Kong IPO, ahead of its June 24 listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The Milan –based company anticipates selling 423.28 million shares at an indicative cost range of between $4.69 and $6.17 each. Prada in a Hong Kong filing on Friday said it expects its half year profit to increase by 46 percent due to it Asia expansion. The company plans to use the IPO profits to repay bank loans, supplement working capital, expand its sales network and increase shop floor space....
    On June 6, 2011 / By
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    Groupon files for $750m IPO

    Chicago-based Groupon, the daily deal website which last year rejected a $6bn buyout offer from Google, has filed with the SEC to raise $750m in an initial public offering, the company said on Friday. The IPO will be managed jointly by Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, according to details of the filing. The filing specified that shares would trade under the symbol ‘GRPN’ but did not detail how many shares are to be sold and at what price range. The company, which offers discount vouchers for services and products such as restaurant meals, travel, spa treatments and numerous other services, saw sales rocket to $644.7m in...
    On June 3, 2011 / By
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    Brazil needs more time to decide IMF candidacy

    Brazil has welcomed the candidacy of Agustin Carsten, Mexico’s central bank chief, in his pursuit to become the next head of the Washington-based IMF but said it required more time to decide which candidate to support.  Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega however noted on Thursday: “Emerging economies are under-represented in the fund’s leadership, especially Latin American countries.”  He added: “Being born in Europe or in the US does not make the candidate the most qualified for the position. According to Mantega candidates’ dedication to reforming the IMF is more significant than their place of birth. Although Brazil h...
    On June 2, 2011 / By
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    Schneider Electric bids 1.4bn euro for Telvent GIT

    French power equipment specialist Schneider Electric has signed an agreement to acquire Spanish software firm Telvent GIT for €1.4bn ($2bn), the company said on Wednesday. Schneider, the world’s largest producer of low and medium voltage equipment, hopes to reinforce its solution capability for the smart grid electricity software according to a company statement. Telvent’s shareholders will receive $40 a share under the terms of the offer, which is 16 percent higher than the company’s closing price on Tuesday. The tender offer is expected to start mid-June and close in Q3. Schneider’s president and CEO, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, said: ...
    On June 1, 2011 / By
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    German unemployment falls to 20 year low

    Unemployment in Germany fell for a 23rd straight month in May the Federal Labour Agency in Nuremberg said on Tuesday.  The decline in unemployment is said to be largely due to increased spending by consumers and businesses and export driven growth according to the agency.   Numbers fell to 2.96 million or 7 percent from April’s 7.3 percent, reflecting a drop of 118.000, to reach the lowest since records began for a reunified Germany in 1991....
    On May 31, 2011 / By
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    Japan’s April car production drops by half

    Japanese car manufacturers Honda and Toyota reported on Friday a global production drop of around half for April compared to figures the same period last year. Toyota reported a 47.8 percent slump in April to 308.555 vehicles while Honda announced a 52.9 percent drop year-on-year. The car manufacturers said the production decrease was due to a shortage of parts which was triggered by the supply chain disruption following the March earthquake and tsunami. According to Honda, production volume in Asia and Oceania is likely to start picking up in July as the supply of parts from Japan gradually increases....
    On May 27, 2011 / By
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    Hunt for new IMF head; Foxtel expands

    French finance minister Christine Lagarde late on Wednesday formerly launched her bid to lead the IMF as managing director. Lagarde, a former corporate lawyer, is the favourite to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn who resigned following sexual assault allegations.  Augustine Carstens, the governor of the Mexican central bank, is another key contender for the position. The IMF executive directors representing BRICS on Tuesday called for a “transparent, merit-based and competitive process”, saying that selecting a European as managing director undermined the legitimacy of the IMF. Australia’s largest pay-TV provider Foxtel has made a $2.0...
    On May 26, 2011 / By
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    Greece debt crisis reaches stalemate

    The head of Greece’s conservative party, Antonis Samaras, announced late on Tuesday that he would not back a further €6bn austerity measure to reduce the country’s deficit. The political stalemate over austerity measures is threatening to jeopardise the country’s next tranche of a €110bn bailout worth €12bn, which is due in June. Greece announced on Monday the immediate sale of state assets including the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki, and shares in OTE, Greece’s telecom operator.  Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou pledged to go ahead with the drastic privatisation plan in an attempt to reduce its elevated debt level. In ...
    On May 25, 2011 / By
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    Sony predicts $3.2bn loss

    Electronics giant Sony announced late on Monday a revised surprise $3.18bn net loss for the fiscal year that ended in March. It originally posted a profitable projection of $857m in February. The company said the loss was triggered by the production disruptions due to the March earthquake and tsunami and the cyber attack on its online gaming service.  Sony estimates the April hacker attack, which forced the site to stay offline for 23 days and involved the theft of personal data from over 100 million users, will cost around $171m to fix. The electronics company was not scheduled to report final earnings until Thursday but a rule imposed by...
    On May 24, 2011 / By
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    Ryanair profit rises 26%

    Low cost airline Ryanair posted a 26 percent profit increase to €401m in the year to March compared to €319m the previous year. Revenue rose 21 percent to €3.63bn from €2.98bn year-on-year due to a 12 percent jump in airfares, the company said on Monday.  “We were pleased to deliver a 26 percent increase in profits and eight percent traffic growth, despite higher oil prices, the global recession, and volcanic ash disruptions in Q1 last year,” CEO Michael O’Leary said. The no frills airline also reported an eight percent increase in passenger traffic with a total of 72.1 million passengers. However, O’Leary warned that traff...
    On May 23, 2011 / By