Key events
Introduction: Britain’s Rightmove rejects £6.1bn offer from Murdoch’s REA; Chinese stocks extend rally
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
The British online property portal Rightmove has rejected an improved £6.1bn takeover proposal from billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group, saying it undervalued the company.
The Australian group said on Monday that it had made a third offer for the company, worth £6.1bn. But Rightmove said the increased proposal “continues to be unattractive and materially undervalues the company and its future prospects”.
REA responded swiftly, saying it was “disappointed” by the latest rejection, and “frustrated” that the rejections aside, “REA has still had no substantive engagement with Rightmove”.
Chinese stocks have rallied for a second day, fuelled by Beijing’s stimulus, while the rest of Asia is more mixed.
The mainland China CSI 300 index rose by 1.68% following a 4.3% jump the day before, while Hong Kong’s Hang Sing added nearly 1% after Tuesday’s 4.1% leap. Japan’s Nikkei slipped by 0.26% while South Korea’s Kospi lost 1%.
The People’s Bank of China launched a blitz of stimulus measures to support its economy, cutting the amount of cash banks must hold on their books, lowering several key interest rates and unveiling more support for the property market.
The news lifted stocks around the world. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 celebrated its 41st record high yesterday.
However, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, cautioned:
The problem is, the stimulus measures will take time to show in the economic data. And more worryingly, they won’t do much to fix the country’s deepest issues – they won’t reverse local governments’ heavy debt burden, China’s aging population, and will hardly boost the demand-led growth. As such long-term investors appreciate the efforts but prefer to watch from a distance for now.
The Agenda
إرسال تعليق