Bourses ended the session sharply lower and towards the bottom of the day’s range as traders sat on the sidelines ahead of tonight’s US Federal Reserve statement.
US policymakers are widely expected to hold interest rates at 0%, but how the Fed responds to recent weak economic data will be the main point of interest.
Investors were also rocked by the latest Chinese trade figures which sparked fears the country’s growth is starting to slow.
Few stocks managed gains and banks were among the hardest hit. Societe Generale and Credit Agricole lost over 2% in Paris, while Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank ran into selling on the Frankfurt exchange.
Big news was that French electricity giant GDF Suez is to take a 70% stake in UK power generator International Power in a deal that will see it transfer various parts of its international businesses to the UK company, and commit to provide it with long term financing.
The proposed combination, which has the full backing of the International Power board, will be completed through a reverse takeover of GDF's international businesses outside of Europe, plus certain GDF assets in the UK and Turkey, known collectively as GDF Suez Energy International.
That business will be transferred to International Power with €4.4bn (Ł3.7bn) of net financial debt as at 30 June 2010. The pro-forma net debt of the combined businesses will be Ł10.4bn, though it’s expected the enlarged entity will obtain an investment grade credit rating, as a result of which the new company will benefit from substantial annualised pre-tax financing synergies of Ł61m a year through access to lower cost financing and GDF Suez's strong balance sheet.
Carmakers BMW, Daimler, VW and Renault struggled, ensuring the French Cac ended down 46 at 3,730 and Germany’s Dax finished with a 65-point deficit at 6,286.
Elsewhere, Germany’s second-largest reinsurer Hannover Re dropped following a 24% drop in second quarter profit to €159.6m.
German electronics and engineering powerhouse Siemens is to sell its electronic warfare firm, Roke Manor Research, to decoy countermeasures specialist Chemring.
Chemring is paying Ł55m to acquire Roke, an engineering company that provides contract research, product development and low volume production for a wide range of UK and international customers.
Source:digitallook
No comments:
Post a Comment