LONDON (Reuters) - The benchmark share index fell to its lowest closing level in nearly six months on Friday, as persistent fears over a Greek euro exit and debt-laden Spanish banks knocked back heavyweight financial stocks. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended down 70.76 points, or 1.3 percent, at 5,267.62 points - its lowest closing level since November 25, when it finished at 5,164.65 points. The FTSE also recorded its third consecutive week of losses. "I've seen fund selling today. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - From straitened origins in coal mining and the rag trade, Martin Abbott is in line for a major windfall as the 135-year-old London Metal Exchange goes under the hammer. If the deal goes through, the LME's chief executive will collect his share of a shadow equity incentive scheme for a select group of managers which will possibly be worth as much as 21 million pounds, depending on the selling price. The LME, a last bastion of open outcry trading in a city dominated by computer dealing, opened its doors to a sale last year. ...
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 1.2 billion pound ($1.9 billion) bid from Hong Kong for the London Metal Exchange could be hard to beat on price and carried assurances about maintaining the LME's 135-year-old traditions, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. The offer for the world's largest metals marketplace from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx) is up against bids from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and InterContinental Exchange . HKEx declined to comment on the bid price. "It'll be between CME and HKEx. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Cable & Wireless Worldwide could use its expected poor set of results on Monday to justify its support for a takeover by Vodafone , a deal that its largest shareholder has said is too cheap. The troubled business telecoms group, which was valued at 2.7 billion pounds just two years ago after the former Cable & Wireless split, agreed to be bought by Vodafone for 1 billion pounds last month. Some 18.6 percent of shareholders have pledged to take the money rather than wait for a turnaround after suffering a string of disappointments in the last two years. ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc shares fizzled on their first day of trade on the Nasdaq, erasing early gains of as much as 18 percent to trade close to their initial public offering price. The stock opened 11 percent higher and rose to $45 (28.4 pounds) before rapidly heading south in frenzied trade, touching its initial public offering price of $38. The No. 1 online social network raised as much as $18.4 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history. ...